


Dawn of the Godslinger

by HardNoctLife



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Action, Action/Adventure, BAMF Prompto Argentum, Canon-Typical Violence, Everyone Is Gay, Explicit Language, F/M, Final Fantasy XV Spoilers, Gay, Gay Sex, Gen, Gods, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Multi, Post-Game(s), Semi-Public Sex, Sex, divine intervention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-02-12
Packaged: 2019-10-18 07:23:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 55,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17576456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HardNoctLife/pseuds/HardNoctLife
Summary: “What do you mean all of Eos is out looking for me?” I asked slowly, weighing every word like it might be my last. Cindy rolled her eyes and reached into the pocket of the tattered jacket she always wore to pull out a mini-radio. One news story seemed to be on a steady repeating loop.“High Commander of the newly formed Lucian Guard, Gladiolus Amicitia, has put out an APB to all hunters, soldiers, and laypeople to find and capture Prompto Argentum. Argentum, who was formerly believed dead, is wanted for crimes against the crown, and is ordered to be taken alive and returned for sentencing. Current bounty is set at 100,000 gil—”Cindy abruptly shut off the radio, but the damage was done. Nauseated, I slowly met her gaze from where I remained in the sand.>>>After Noctis’s death, Prompto runs. It’s what he does best after all, and he needs to clear his head, but in running away he runs straight into trouble. With a bounty on his head he takes refuge on Angelgard, only to find it isn’t as deserted as people once thought.





	1. Chapter 1

_ Prompto _

_Day 1 of Light –_

I’ll never forget those first rays of sunlight, and how the harsh light of day forced us all to realize two things—that the Long Night was truly over, and that our best friend, the King of Lucis, was officially dead. After fighting off the last of the daemons from the Crown City streets, the rest fled with the new dawn, almost as if, they too, had forgotten what it was like to feel the sun’s warmth—and feared its power.

Gladio and I had to spend a few minutes to compose ourselves, as the brilliance of the light was too much for our sensitive eyes to handle. Ignis, of course, couldn’t say the same, but marveled at the heat and waited patiently by our sides until we were able to blink our eyelids open and look upon our newly illuminated world.

A world of ruin. Destruction, as far as the eye could see, and yet, a strange peace lingered within the rubble, almost as if it had been there the whole time, waiting for us to peel back the darkness. Of course, that was Noctis’s destiny, wasn’t it? As the “Chosen King,” we knew the burden he had to bear, but I couldn’t help but feel cheated.

I had waited in ten years of darkness to get my friend back from the clutches of the Astral Plane, and in one short day, lost him again forever. It seemed like a dream, or more accurately, a cruel nightmare, that we could marvel at such beauty while his eyes remained closed for eternity.

“Word will spread quickly now that the night has lifted,” Ignis commented, always the pragmatic one.

“What do you propose?” Gladiolus asked wearily. I attempted to casually sit on the steps of the Citadel, hiding the fact that my knees had grown weak at the thought of continuing to live after finally completing our mission to defeat the darkness. As Ignis responded, I kept my gaze focused downward between my knees.

“We must retrieve his body and give it a proper burial. Then we must attempt to contact as many leaders as we can and arrange a council before anyone attempts to descend on the Crown City.”

“You really think people will try to take over this trash heap?” I blurted, still staring intently at my boots.

“Those who seek power wait for no man,” Ignis responded dryly. “Our future is still in a precarious position. As Kingslaive—”

“Crownsguard,” I insisted stubbornly. “We have no king now, remember?” A silence lulled then. Ignis and Gladio gave me the mercy of being wrong without correction.

“Kingsglaive” put a bad taste in my mouth—it stank of rebellion and failure, bringing to mind the skirmish that had led to King Regis’s death and put us all in this position in the first place. “Crownsguard,” on the other hand, evoked images of long road trips, nights around a campfire, and playful bickering between friends—a time when life was simpler, and Noctis still lived.

Gladio and Ignis eventually resumed their conversation, which I mostly tuned out. I wasn’t sure how they could concern themselves with logistics of rebuilding the city at a time like this. Yes, Noctis had been our king, but hadn’t he been so much more than that? My vision blurred as tears threatened, but I wouldn’t allow them to escape my eyes. If I did, I wasn’t sure they would ever stop.

“Are you coming?”

Ignis’s question eventually jolted me out of my wistful reverie.

“Coming?” I responded numbly. Gladio gestured to the Citadel and I felt myself freeze. “Oh—no, I…” Gladio’s face contorted briefly, but before he could speak, Ignis placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

“We will handle things. Take all the time you need.” Gladio turned away silently as I hung my head.

I wasn’t sure how long I sat there, but the sun progressively grew higher in the sky and I marveled as the shadows fled. At some point a high chirping filled the air, and it took me a full ten seconds to realize it was coming from my own pocket. Moving quickly to pull my phone out, I glanced down at it only to feel a deep disappointment when it wasn’t Noctis’s name that flashed across the screen.

“H-hello?” I cleared my throat, trying to sound calmer than I felt.

“Prompto, is that you?” The twangy voice asked, obviously relieved. A pang of guilt shot through me.

“Yeah, yeah, Cindy it’s me. What’s up?” With my free hand I roughly wiped my tears away.

“Well I’ll be—y’all actually did it! We weren’t sure on account of… well, y’know, but all the daemons are gone! We’re headin’ to Lestallum to meet up with some folks, but I wanted to make sure y’all were alive and kickin’ before we got to settin’ out.”

“Yeah, uh… we have to finish up here, but, I’m sure we’ll meet up soon.” I tried to make my tone a happy one, but even I wasn’t fooled.

“Prompt- what’s wrong? Is everyone all right?” My throat clenched as a warm heat stung my vision once more.

“He’s—Noctis…” I couldn’t finish the sentence, but there was a long pause on the line.

“I’m mighty sorry, I really am. Ol’ Cid, he said… but I didn’t want to believe it. I thought surely there was some other way…”

“Cindy, I gotta go, but we’ll talk later—promise.” I hung up without waiting for her to respond and jumped to my feet, shoving the phone in my pocket.

I began to run then. I didn’t have a destination or a goal in mind, but as I raced through Insomnia’s abandoned streets, I attempted to block out the events of the last decade. The more my lungs and throat burned, the easier it got to forget the world around me. One fleeting thought did enter my mind as I turned a corner—running had started out as my way to get closer to Noctis, but now I wanted nothing more to use it to escape all memories of him and the pain they brought me.

 

* * *

 

_Ignis _

_Day 31 of Light –_

Each day since the Dawn had been interesting to say the least. The things I had heard that I never thought I would hear again—bird’s song, laughter, mundane conversations that didn’t revolve around the killing of daemons, even Gladio’s snoring- all these small blessings which I now cherished more than ever, and yet the fight was far from over.

As I had predicted, it took less time for the light to settle on our new world than it did for Eos’s leaders to assemble and start a fresh round of bickering. What would become of the Crown City? Who would lead the people? Helm the restoration efforts? It was a huge undertaking that King Noctis had saddled us with, and there were even some who doubted his return entirely in spite of the fact that sunlight now touched their skin. After all, no one save his closest retainers claimed to have seen him in over ten years, and we could not— _would not_ —reveal the location of his tomb, for fear that certain factions might use the information for evil.

Most troubling of all were those still loyal to Niflheim. Yes, even they had suffered under the darkness’s reign and their territories had been ravaged by daemons same as ours, yet they still clung to the idea that King Regis was to blame. If he had not agreed to surrender all lands to the empire in the first place to save his son and Insomnia, none of this would have happened, they claimed. To educate them regarding Ardyn’s plan for revenge and the involvement of The Six was a lost cause. So, Gladiolus and I soldiered on, holding fast to our desire to create a new council of leaders to focus on Lucis’s recovery first and foremost, and leave the political debates for a later date.

I had proposed that Gladiolus and Iris, who had made a name for herself during the Long Night, be elevated to High Commanders of the newly formed Lucian Guard and begin to recruit hunters and former soldiers to formulate an official army. They would be the key to our defense if other parties dared to take Insomnia by force before their time. They agreed wholeheartedly to their assignments, each using their own methods to start the process. Gladio departed to entreat the help of the remaining Kingsglaive members still in Lestallum, which had followed in Marshal Cor Leonis’s footsteps, while Iris set out to call upon hunters in Accordo, Tenebrae, and Galahd. I myself had been deemed Head Councilman of Insomnia, seeing as I had served the Lucian family loyally for many years. Unfortunately, this meant dealing first hand with the rulers of the land and also coordinating restoration efforts among the cities and various outposts that survived the darkness.

Currently I was enroute to Lestallum, the last bastion of civilization. Thank the gods for Holly Teulle and Jeanne Labreigh, the top engineers of the EXINERIS Power Plant. Without their tireless and selfless efforts, we would not have survived the Long Night. Now, their services were in high demand as they were sought to help repair technology and return power to not only Lucis, but all of Eos.

I could smell Lestallum before my driver announced, “We’ve arrived, sir.” The mix of spices and sizzling meat filled the air, and I inhaled deeply, reveling in how it stirred up memories long forgotten.

“Thank you, Bierno. You may await me at the Leville Hotel, I should be there by nightfall.”

“Sir, are you sure I shouldn’t accompany you?” I could hear the nervousness in my assistant’s voice and smiled.

“No, be on your way. I’ve managed alone in more dangerous times than these.” Without waiting for further protest, I opened the car door and stepped out onto the street. As I walked, the noises of the city comforted me. Vendors talked shop, cars rolled by, and utensils clicked and clacked in plates and bowls. I followed the humming of the power plant up familiar side streets and steps that I had walked a thousand times before, yet still managed to feel different with every passing day. The sun had brought life back into the city, returning it to the carefree tropical paradise of ten years past.

I could hear Holly’s even breathing and gentle self-mutterings before she realized I had entered her office. (Surely, she could hear her door hinges creaking as I let myself in?) “Oh, Iggy! You scared me,” she laughed. Her hair swished over her work uniform as her head turned towards me.

“My apologies, it wasn’t my intent to give you a fright.” I smiled as she placed a warm hand on mine and guided me to a cushioned office chair.

“I have your report,” she exclaimed while placing a thick stack of papers in my other hand. I gave a little sigh at the weight of it.

“This might take some time,” I muttered as my fingertips glanced over the raised bumps of the first page. Good news was evident—all the outposts surrounding Lestallum had power now, and work was being done in Galdin Quay, Insomnia, and Altissia. My fingers continued to browse as Holly spoke.

“The short of it is that I’ve recruited a lot more workers! Seems like people are tired of sitting around in the dark, and the Kingsglaive is more than eager to help. I predict that basic power should be up and running in all major areas of Eos in the next six months if projections hold. What’s going to take time is the infrastructure. This is all on a volunteer basis, mind you, so the quicker people burn out, the slower or progress will go.”

“Of course, I would be happy to provide funds from the vaults of the Crown City to further bolster your efforts, and Accordo has also mentioned financing the recovery, although an exact number has not yet been agreed upon.” I made a mental note to touch base with First Secretary Camelia Claustra after returning to Insomnia.

“That would be great. Don’t worry though, we’ve got a handle on things here,” Holly assured me.

“Of that I have no doubt,” I responded with a smile.

“How have you been?” Holly ventured tentatively, her slight change in tone causing my smile to vanish.

“I’m merely thankful to be alive, but there is no time to rest.” It seemed like honesty was the best policy while among one of the few friends I had left.

“Prompto stopped by, I don’t think he wanted me to tell you,” she admitted. My breath caught and I had to compose myself for a moment.

“Do you know where he is, Holly? Is he safe?” A heaviness landed on my chest and I had to cough to shoo it away. I could hear the technician shifting in her chair, obviously unsure of how to reply to my query.

“He seems… different.” The words were hollow in her mouth, and I could tell she was holding something back, but didn’t want to press too hard. “He said he was going to travel the world and photograph the recovery efforts—for future generations.” A laugh this time, and some fondness mixed in with her musings. “I told him he had a position on my staff if he ever wanted to get his hands dirty with machinery again, but I don’t think he’s quite ready to commit to one place,” she commented. I let the silence hang between us as I processed Holly’s words. 

“He—left something for you, actually.” Guilt intermingled with the statement. “I’m sorry I didn’t contact you sooner, but he gave me explicit instructions.” My hands gripped the arms of the chair as I heard her pull open her desk drawer and rummage for something within. Why was my heart racing? Holly’s soft footsteps drew near, and I snapped out of my own thoughts, leaning forward slightly in the chair.

In her gentle, yet firm way, Holly pulled my hand forward, placing a cool, metal item in my cupped palm. It was heavier than I expected for such a small piece, and I caressed it with both hands, brows furrowing as I tried to glean a mental image of it. “A…monocle?” I asked incredulously. I investigated more intently now, discovering a button and several glass lenses that slid in and out of the body. “He knows I’m blind,” I said pointedly, this time to my companion.

“He said he had been working on it for the last few weeks, to apologize for up and leaving that day,” Holly explained quietly. “He also left you a note, but he said you needed to ‘read it with your own eyes’.” Anger quickly rose within me, but I pushed it aside for Holly’s sake. To my surprise, she stepped so close that I could feel the heat radiating off her face. Slowly, (I assume so not to startle me,) she picked up Prompto’s gift and removed my dark visor. Gentle as a dove, Holly brought the item to my blind eye and affixed it firmly to my face. I gave a gasp as I felt what seemed to be small needles inserting into the flesh surrounding my dead eye.

It took some time before I realized my mouth was agape. Through a crystal clear lens, I now gazed upon Holly’s face, which had gained some wrinkles compared to my last memories of her, but remained largely the same as it always had—intelligent and determined. I took a look around the office I had come to know from its sounds and feel, more relaxed and lived-in than business like, but functional for its purpose. When my eyes finally returned to rest on the woman before me, my mouth was firmly shut. She held out a small envelope with my name etched on the front in a familiar, scratchy penmanship.

I hoped that Holly ignored the shaking of my hand as I reached for the letter and opened it. Trying to keep my expression neutral, I read the words on the folded page.

 

_Iggy:_

_I’m sorry for leaving, but it’s something I had to do. Please don’t call anymore, I promise I’ll be back when I’m ready. I made this for you, I hope it works. I’ve been doing some soul searching and I think it’s time I look into how I can help in this new world apart from you and Gladio. I know how you worry so I’ll check in with Holly periodically. Walk tall, my friend._

_Prompto_

 

I carefully refolded the letter and returned it to its envelop before taking a deep breath. “Thank you, Holly. I’m glad he’s alive. When we didn’t hear from him, we feared the worst.”

“I wanted to tell you, Ignis,” Holly said sympathetically. I shook my head, holding a hand up to stop her.

“There’s no need for apologies, we all have our own burdens to bear. Although, I do wonder, how in the world did he manage this?” I gestured to the monocle. “My blindness-- I don’t like to speak of it, but its of a peculiar nature. Trust me when I say I tried everything I could think of to cure it before accepting my fate.” Holly could only shrug in response.

“I merely supplied him with a place to work and access to resources, so your guess is as good as mine, but he labored like a madman for days, hardly stopping to eat or drink.” I mulled over her words before standing, her report in hand.

“Yes, well, please send word as soon as you hear from him again.” She nodded intently this time. I walked out of her office and into the daylight, immediately glancing up at the sky that I had not seen in over ten years. 

 

* * *

 

_ Gladiolus _

_Day 42 of Light –_

I glanced down at my watch as I put the key in the door and jiggled the handle. 2300 already? How had I wasted so much daylight? My head was pounding from dehydration and the one cup of noodles I had for breakfast had long since digested, but it was a small price to pay for spending the day whipping our new recruits into shape. Gods bless the Marshal—if it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t sleep at all.

As I pushed my way into the apartment, the mouthwatering smell of something delicious immediately hit my nostrils and caused me to pause. Treading as quietly as possible I set my keys on the front table and wandered into the modest kitchen that I rarely spent time in. Sitting on the stove was a covered dish with a simple note affixed to it.

         I know you didn’t eat. This is for you. – Ignis

I couldn’t help but laugh. That bastard thought of everything, and I was beyond grateful. Without bothering to take my shoes off, I picked up the entire pan, grabbed a fork, and sat down at the table to chow down. I picked the entire dish clean and knocked back a couple beers before I felt satisfied. Finally kicking off my boots by the door, I wandered towards my bedroom, intent on at least taking a quick shower before hitting the sack.

Light peeked out from under the office door, catching my eye. Gently, I knocked once before nudging the door ajar. I found Ignis reclined in the armchair, dozing peacefully, a stack of papers scattered across the floor in an articulate spiderweb. I briefly retreated to the guest room across the hall from mine and found a comforter in the closet. Retrieving it, I padded carefully back to where Ignis slept, draping it across his sleeping form.

As I turned away, he stirred slightly. “It must be past midnight,” he murmured with a yawn.

“Not quite,” I protested. “I could have killed you,” I said off-handedly.

“Thank heavens you weren’t a burglar then,” he quipped back without missing a beat.

“Still, you should take more precautions, our intel says that Imperialists—”

“Gladio, it is quite late. This conversation can wait until tomorrow,” Ignis interrupted, sitting up and stretching in the chair.

“Hmph. What were you working on?” I questioned begrudgingly, glancing down at the papers he had assembled.

“Oh, just this and that,” he evaded. I picked up one stack of papers that caught my attention and arched an eyebrow at the words transfixed beneath the brail.

“Astralians…? Is this some kind of joke?” I quickly flipped through a few more sheets, eyebrows now sagging into a frown.

“They’ve begun to gather at Angelgard, building a shrine to the ‘Chosen King’ and devote themselves to worshipping The Six, praying for deliverance now that the Lucian and Oracle lines have been destroyed. Very much _not_ a joke.” Ignis stood then, and began to systematically grab his stacks of paper, arranging them neatly on the desk.

“How long did it take you to read through all these reports? This must be days’ worth of work,” I marveled.

“Indeed.” He continued shuffling through his materials, choosing not to answer my question.

“Do you think someone discovered…?” I let the question trail off, a bad feeling circling in the pit of my stomach.

“The Tomb of the Fearless?” Ignis spoke the name we had chosen with fondness. “No, it does not seem so, but it’s important we send someone to run damage control. I was thinking Iris would suffice if she has completed her tour. I’d go myself if not for the importance of our restoration efforts. I’ve recently received word from Talcott that we were able to recover all the materials from former Imperial bases in Lucis and have been redistributing supplies to help with construction, but I must set out for Accordo shortly to meet with the secretary.” I nodded slowly.

“You plan on going alone?” I couldn’t keep the distaste out of my voice and I knew Ignis took notice.

“Yes, alone. You’ll recall that I fared just fine during the Long Night,” he retorted sharply. My anger quickly boiled to the surface.

“We all did what we had to, damnit, but things are different now Ignis. I’m not going to lose anyone else to sheer stupidity.” My tone was rising with emotion and I could see Ignis stiffen defensively. Even though I knew he couldn’t see me, I crossed my arms over my chest, biceps bulging with tension.

He stepped forward, doing something I didn’t expect—he laid his hand on my arm comfortingly. “I too, miss Prompto and Noctis, but I need you to trust me.” I felt the tension melt away and for a moment stood dumbfounded, but I quickly recovered, shaking his hand away.

“Send someone else, Ignis! Is there no one you can delegate to? While you’re off in Accordo, those fools on the council will plot behind our backs!”

Ignis sighed heavily, adjusting his visor. “There are some things that cannot be helped, Gladio. You know Camelia will not be impressed by any old messenger. I know you will handle things here while I’m gone in the meantime. Besides, Prompto isn’t dead.”

It felt as if I had just been punched in the gut. I stared at Ignis incredulously, wishing more than ever that he had his sight if only to see the disbelief on my face. “How—when did you…!? Why didn’t you call me—where is he now?”

“I wanted to tell you in person. It seemed like too important of news to deliver over the phone, but as you know, I was otherwise indisposed until today. He left word with Holly, saying he was all right, but not to pursue him—”

My rage returned full force and I had to resist the urge to punch the wall. “Not _follow_ him?! That _punk_ , how _dare_ he, after everything we’ve been through! For over a month we thought he was dead!” I began to pace, needing to expel the energy pulsing through my veins.

“We all grieve differently, Gladio. It’s why we could barely stand to be around each other during the Long Night. Even as we hoped for Noctis’s return, our combined grief was too much to bear,” Ignis commented. I didn’t want his astute observations though—all I wanted right now was to beat Prompto’s ass.

“I’m putting out a bounty on him,” I said defiantly. “Let’s see how long he can run from this while the rest of us devote every waking hour to fixing this mess!” The voice I heard in my own ears sounded closer to an animal’s growl than my own, but I was okay with that. To Ignis’s credit, he didn’t try to talk sense into me. He of all people knew better. My decision made, I stomped out of the office.

“Where are you going?” Ignis called after me.

“Out!” I retorted. The door shuddered as I slammed it behind me, boots in hand and mouth set in a grimace.

 

* * *

 

_ Prompto _

_Day 45 of Light -_

Even with my eyes closed I could see the redness of the sun behind my lids. Inhaling slowly, I could almost taste the salt in my mouth while the ocean crashed on the nearby shore. Gleeful cries of seagulls filled my ears, and as I exhaled, in the distance I could hear the steel drums of a band playing at the Galdin Quay resort. It was the perfect afternoon.

Quite abruptly, a cool shadow obscured the light on my face. I squinted one eye open to find a curvy figure looking a little less than pleased at me, her roughened hands on her hips in a stance that said she meant business. “What in tarnation do ya think yer doin’ out here, boy?” Cindy’s words cut through me faster than any bullet, and as I hastened to sit up in my hammock, the weight became uneven and I quickly found myself face first in a pile of sand.

Sputtering and coughing I sat up and brushed grains out of my hair. “Cindy! What are you doing here?” I demanded, knowing I was in no position to ask.

“Me? _Me_?!” She thundered. Her tone caused me to wince. I had only seen her this mad one other time, and I tried to keep that memory tucked away in a vault dubbed “Bad Ideas: Do Not Repeat.” “You have some nerve comin’ out here on vacation while all of heaven and Eos is out lookin’ fer ya. Lucky for you, no one else has thought to track your phone yet, so I came to give ya a warnin’. ‘Course that was before I saw you were out here enjoyin’ yer freedom.” I was able to pick through enough of her vernacular to gather I was in big trouble.

“What do you mean all of Eos is out looking for me?” I asked slowly, weighing every word like it might be my last. Cindy rolled her eyes and reached into the pocket of the tattered jacket she always wore to pull out a mini-radio. Switching it on she fiddled with a few dials, eventually settling on the Hunter station that regularly put out information about new bounties or monsters. Obviously since the end of the Long Night it had been mostly silent, but as Cindy settled on it, one news story seemed to be on a steady repeating loop.

_“High Commander of the newly formed Lucian Guard, Gladiolus Amicitia, has put out an APB to all hunters, soldiers, and laypeople to find and capture Prompto Argentum. Argentum, who was formerly believed dead, is wanted for crimes against the crown, and is ordered to be taken alive and returned for sentencing. Current bounty is set at 100,000 gil—”_

Cindy abruptly shut off the radio, but the damage was done. Nauseated, I slowly met her gaze from where I remained in the sand.

“100,000? Where did he even get that much?” I asked weakly.

“You wanna tell me why in the hell one of yer _best friends_ has put a bounty on yer head? Because if ya don’t start talkin’ I have a mind to turn ya in myself and pocket that mound of cash.” I could tell from the fire in her eyes that she was serious. Now was not the time for my usual levity.

“So, I may have run away.”

Cindy looked around impatiently before snapping: “Prompt—I knew that when ya wouldn’t return my phone calls anymore, get to the point!”

“I didn’t tell Gladio, all right? I knew he would be mad. I mean, I left word for Ignis a few weeks ago, and it seems like he only just now delivered the message. How was I supposed to know he’d take it this far?”

It didn’t look like I would be getting any sympathy from my old friend. She waved her hand at me angrily, eventually transitioning into shaking her fist in my face.

“Prompto, ya gotta go back to Insomnia! It ain’t right for ya to be out here like this. Gladio and Ignis thought ya were dead. Can you even imagine how that made ‘em feel?” Cindy paused, realizing her mistake, but I couldn’t work up the nerve to correct her. With renewed heaviness, I got to my feet, gazing out at the shimmering ocean waves.

“…Cindy, you’re probably right, but if I go back now, it won’t fix anything. We’ll fight, we’ll break up, and we’ll all end up hurt again—that’s how it goes, even you have witnessed that. None of us are ready to move on yet, least of all me. Gladio and Iggy—they’re stronger than I am. They can do work and lose themselves in it. What can I do?” I laughed, although there was no humor in it. “I can take pictures. I can tinker with things, travel, and try to make sense of who I am and why I was created.” I shrugged then, hoping I could somehow make her understand. She stared at me for a long time, a strange emotion in her eyes that I couldn’t quite name. Finally, she shook her head.

“I don’t get it Prompto, but I ain’t the kind to force nobody. From now on though ya best deactivate yer phone if ya don’t want to get caught. And better guard yer steps, I’m sure that bounty is only gonna get higher. If I were you… I’d make it outta Lucis fast.” I nodded, knowing it probably hurt her to say what she did, but she was used to putting others first, and I always loved her for that. She began to turn away, but then whirled back around with the same strange expression from before.

“People are talkin’ about a group gatherin’ at Angelgard.”

“At Angelgard? I thought no one could go there on account of it being sacred and all,” I replied in surprise. Cindy made a sound that suggested she agreed with me.

“Not really sure what to make of it, but they say they call themselves Astralians. Somethin’ about worshippin’ The Six and trying to reach ‘the other plane.’ I think it might all be some malarkey, but maybe it’s someplace people won’t go lookin’ too hard, if ya know what I mean.”

I smiled then and stepped forward, wrapping my arms around her. Cindy stiffened at first, but then relaxed, her head coming to rest on my shoulder in reluctant relief. She was warm from the sun and smelled faintly of motor oil. “Yer a damn fool, Argentum,” she muttered, but behind the curse was something I recognized.

“You, uh, got a lot of work to do back at Hammerhead?” I questioned conversationally. Somewhere in my mind an alarm sounded. The same alarm that guarded that damned vault and screamed “turn back now!” She leaned back a little, arching an eyebrow in amazement.

“Why, ya got somethin’ for me to do?” She shot back, an obvious challenge. I resisted the urge to look away, instead giving her my best grin. She punched me in the chest, but not hard enough to hurt. “Really? Ya gotta be kiddin’ me!”

“Third time’s a charm?” I ventured hopefully. Cindy scoffed, pulling away, this time for real. I watched as she stormed towards the motorcycle she had parked by the pier. My eyes steadied on her, still clinging to the shred of a dream I had left behind several years ago.

As she pulled on her helmet, I saw her glance back over her shoulder at me. “Bingo!” I said to no one in particular.

Once she was out of sight, I rummaged through my pack for a ballcap and some sunglasses, then gathered up all of my things and headed for the dock. I had pulled some strings with an old partner of Dino’s to get my boat moored at Galdin Quay, but it seemed like sooner I could ship off, the better. Cindy wouldn’t have wasted time tracking me down if the situation wasn’t dire, and I knew how Gladio could be when he was angry.

“Let’s see how welcoming the Astralians are,” I decided as I unwound the boat’s rope from its tether.

 

* * *

 

_ Ignis _

_Day 45 of Light –_

Getting to Accordo had taken more time than I had anticipated. Several preparations needed to be made prior to my departure along with instructions given and reports made by various sectors within Lucis. The council wanted a detailed itinerary of my trip “for my safety,” so I gave them one, even if not altogether true to the letter. All in all, things were progressing smoother than I had hoped, a testament to the hard work of Lucis’s citizens and the members of the Lucian Guard. Upon arrival, the familiar sounds of the water-bound city greeted me, and I couldn’t help but feel some excitement. I had not been able to visit since the Long Night had fallen, and while I knew the city had its fair share of struggles, all news pointed to a speedy recovery, especially in the private sector where seafood was king. Finally, I would be able to consume a warm, homecooked meal that hadn’t been prepared by my hand. It was like a dream come true.

“Sir, welcome to Altissia,” my captain announced. I knew we had arrived from the way the boat gently bumped against the dock, but I said my thanks anyway and alighted quickly. Although nervous about the prospect of being seen using it in public, I had tucked away Prompto’s gift in my pocket just in case. I wasn’t as familiar with the meandering city streets and stairways, and it had been a decade since my last visit so who knew what had changed? An extra set of eyes might be just what I needed to adapt more quickly to my surroundings. In my heart I said a quick prayer to whatever god might be listening that Prompto be found soon—and without any harm to his person.

When in new environments I made use of a cane as a sort of “seeing” instrument, and it conveniently doubled as a hidden blade. I utilized it now as I carefully made my way into Altissia, listening to the buzz of the marketplace and snippets of conversation as I made way for one of the many gondola stations scattered about the city. A member of the secretary’s contingent was supposed to meet me there in order to escort me to Camelia’s estate. Once I found my mark, I stood there patiently. I heard sturdy footsteps approaching and readied myself for a confrontation.

“Sir Ignis Scientia?” A gruff voice inquired.

“One in the same,” I confirmed.

“If you will step into the gondola, sir, I am here to take you to Secretary Claustra. Your guard has gone ahead of you.” I paused after stepping down into the gondola.

“My guard?” I asked, puzzled by the notion.

“Yes, Lady Amicitia, sir?”

“Ah.” I mulled over about one thousand thoughts in the span of a second. Time seemed to have stopped entirely until the gentle rocking of the skiff jolted me back to the present. I must have made a terrible face, because my escort didn’t say another word until we reached our destination.

“If you would follow me, sir.”

When we entered the secretary’s office, I could feel Iris’s presence even before she spoke. The past ten years had aged her in a way no one could have expected, and now she commanded a room with the aura she put forth.

“Councilman,” she greeted smoothly. I couldn’t help but smile at her tone. With one word she had spoken an apology and a promise for details to come. I inclined my head to her, saving face for the sake of our mission.

“Secretary Claustra, it is my honor to present to you the Head Councilman of Insomnia, Ignis Scientia,” Iris announced.

“Ignis, it is a pleasure to see you again after all these years.” Camelia’s voice had aged with her, but in a way that evoked a feeling of wisdom and strength. I found myself bowing without even realizing it, then quickly took my seat.

“Secretary, it is an honor to be in your city once more,” I said wholeheartedly. “As I wrote in our letters, there are a few things I would like to discuss regarding the restoration efforts,” I began.

“I’m all ears,” Camelia exuded.

Our talk continued for quite some time, and I was pleased to find Camelia receptive to our suggestions, yet firm in her demands. We ended the meeting having come to a consensus on funding for the restoration, along with renewal of trade agreements and joint military cooperation. With a majority of our matters settled, we exchanged some other pleasantries before saying our farewells.

“Please feel free to stay as long as necessary and do take advantage of our hospitality. There will be a meal prepared for you and Lady Amicitia at Maagho this evening, so I hope you can partake.”

“You needn’t ask twice,” I replied with a laugh. Bidding the first secretary farewell, Iris and I took our leave, walking in comfortable silence until we left the estate. “Your brother sent you to guard me.” It was more of a statement than a question.

“You know how Gladdy worries about you, Ignis,” Iris confirmed. I sighed heavily, resigned to my irritation.

“Who, might I ask, is enroute to Angelgard as I requested?”

“Oh, I sent Talcott and some members of the Kingsglaive,” the High Commander replied casually. I couldn’t help but make a noise of displeasure.

“That boy would jump into a volcano if you so much as hinted that it might make you happy.” I imagined Iris made a face before what she said next.

“I didn’t _ask_ for him to fall in love with me, Iggy! Anyway, they’re just gathering intelligence on those new religious nuts. It’s hardly a difficult job.” I stopped then, listening intently. “What is it?” She asked, her voice filled with concern. Once I was certain no one else was around, I leaned in close to her, speaking in a voice only she would hear.

“Noctis’s tomb is there, Iris. It cannot be discovered.” She reached out to grip my wrist and I could feel the fear in the strength of her grasp.

“Gladdy never told me that!” She hissed, obviously upset.

“No, of course not. Instead he’s more worried about me being targeted by some invisible enemy and engaging in a pissing contest with Prompto.”

“What happened with Prompto? First, I thought he was dead, then the next thing I know Gladdy has a bounty on his head.”

“Dear gods, I have a lot to debrief you on. Does Gladiolus tell you nothing of import? No matter, but this conversation will need to be held over a nice glass of cognac.”

“We might as well head to Maagho early then,” Iris agreed. I let her lead us to the nearest gondola, and as we floated on towards the world renowned restaurant and bar, I began to fill her in on the various happenings of the last week.

 

* * *

 

_ Gladiolus _

_Day 46 of Light –_

“Status report?” I demanded as I walked into the control room. A young looking recruit whose name I had forgotten jumped to his feet and saluted clumsily.

“Talcott’s men reported that he reached Galdin Quay around 0700 this morning, sir.” I nodded.

“And what of Lady Amiticia?” I questioned, taking a seat at my desk and rifling through the newest files that had landed there.

“She and Councilman Scientia are still in Altissia but sent word that they are safe and that all negotiations went smoothly.” I nodded once more, thinking bitterly that it was just like my own sister to give me the cold shoulder. She must have had time to be updated by Ignis, but her anger with me never held for long. By the time she returned to Lucis she would have forgiven me and would be able to move forward. While I was lost in thought, a set of familiar hands settled on top of one of the many folders piled before me. I glanced up to see the Marshal hovering over me with a peculiar look on his face.

“Gladiolus, a word?” He asked lightly.

“Of course, Marshal.” I jumped up without delay and followed him out of the room where he stopped in the hallway.

“What’s going on?” Cor questioned bluntly.

“…sir?” I asked dumbly. He gestured somewhat vaguely in my direction.

“The bounty on Prompto. Is it a joke?” I saw Cor searching my eyes as if trying to discover the answer for himself.

“No sir, he deserted us,” I responded stiffly. Cor shifted his weight, one hand falling to rest on the sword sheathed by his side.

“Do you recall the words I spoke to you four before you departed for Altissia for the first time?” The Marshal prodded gently. There was no judgement in his voice, and neither was there pity, just a strength that I envied. He didn’t wait for a response, but instead supplied his own. “You were more to Noctis than just retainers, you were like brothers to him—all of you. Do you really want to do this to one of your own? Just do me a favor and think on it. In the meantime, we have some bigger fish to fry.”

“The Imperialists?” I surmised, my expression darkening.

“I’m afraid so,” Cor confirmed, his tone quieting. “It seems like Niflheim has had its power restored as well, and they’ve been busy. There are some things I need to tell you, but not here. Come to my apartment tonight for dinner and I’ll fill you in.” I nodded solemnly, my mind whirring with the possibilities of what he was suggesting. “I may not agree with your methods,” he added, “but we may need Prompto for what’s to come. See if you can make your peace before then.” I pondered on his words as he walked away.

The rest of the day dragged on, a monotonous slew of reports, organizing intel, and facilitating training. Before I knew it, it was 2000, past time for me to meet up with Cor. I hastily finished a few remaining tasks, saying minimal goodbyes as I left the offices within the Citadel. As I walked in the direction of Cor’s apartment building, I checked my phone. Much to my surprise, (and pleasure, though I would never admit it), I had a missed call from Iris.

I listened to the voicemail as I mace my way down a city street. “ _Gladdy! I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about Prompto. Don’t worry—Ignis is more than fine, but I definitely think you owe him an apology. And, while I’m on the subject, don’t you think_ you _should be the one going to Angelgard? Anyway. Call me back when you’re not busy. Love you—even though you’re a big, fat, jerk!”_ I found myself laughing, her words ebbing away at some of the anger that had been swirling inside of me from the moment the Dawn had risen on Eos.

Anger at the world, for the rigged hand it had dealt Noctis and the men of the Lucian royal family. To see my King—no, brother-- die before his time. All the years I had known him, Noctis had shirked his duties, never desiring to be king, or even a prince at that. He had never acted like one, now that I thought about it, and that had suited us all just fine… until the end.

I’ll never forget the look in his eyes when he departed for the throne room alone. Fearless. The ten years had changed him more than it had changed all of us, and finally he went from being a spoiled brat that I had to babysit to being the Chosen King, but in the span of an evening, he was gone. A ten year build up to one fleeting moment that would be forever be burned in my mind, deeper than any scar on my body. He had come to realize that he hadn’t needed me, but rather, wanted me by his side. It was such a precious gift Noctis had given us, and now I felt the strong need to repay him by doing Insomnia justice. There was no room for error, yet I had wasted precious moments fighting with those closest to me.

“Ignis, you’re always right,” I grumbled. It felt good to say it aloud, even if I knew I would never say it to his face.

Trudging up the stairs to Cor’s small apartment, I knocked firmly on the door. Hearing him beckon me inside with a yell, I turned the handle and stepped in.

He had a small meal already laid out on the table, and was sitting at the counter reading a book when I walked in. Gently placing a bookmark in-between the pages, he shut it firmly and set the novel aside before moving to the table. I joined him wordlessly, already sensing the seriousness of the meeting. We began to eat without any sort of ceremony, familiarity taking place of the usual pleasantries exchanged between men. I waited anxiously for Cor to begin speaking, but he was never a man to be rushed and today was no different. The food was gone before he started to talk, his words weighing heavily on his face.

“There have been some disturbing discoveries made in Niflheim.” I could feel myself holding my breath, fearing the worst. “It appears there are still daemons there. Select men from the Kingsglaive were sent to investigate the reports of monsters in the area, and they found an underground facility brimming with daemons and machinery. It appears the Magitek experiments the Empire was known for didn’t stop even when the Long Night fell.”

“How is it possible? I thought Noctis’s sacrifice would have eradicated all the remaining daemons, rendering that technology useless.” I felt a dull pain in my hands from how tightly my fists were clenched.

“That’s what legend would suggest, but my men think the daemons aren’t entirely…organic.”

“Meaning?” I demanded. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears, a steady war drum signaling my worst nightmare was about to become reality.

“They think that the Empire managed to use the technology during the Long Night to artificially create daemons, the same way they developed their Magitek soldiers,” Cor explained somberly.

“They’re clones,” I marveled. Cor nodded.

“How many are there?” I was somehow on my feet, gears already in motion, developing a battle plan.

“It’s impossible to tell. We also don’t know if that’s the only facility the Empire has. Gladiolus, there’s more,” Cor hinted. That got my full attention.

“What do you mean—what could be worse than an army of daemons at the Empire’s disposal?”

“We uncovered more files belonging to former Research Chief Verstael Besithia.”

“Who?” My head was pounding. Cor gave me a pointed look, hinting that the name meant something important.

“The man in charge of the Magitek Experiments, the father of Magitek? Only the evilest scientist of our generation, and the source of the Empire’s power.” My blood ran cold, and I could tell I wouldn’t like what would come next. “His files suggest he implanted a failsafe, some sort of override, into all of his test subjects, in case they fell into the wrong hands.”

A chill, worse than I had ever felt, froze me in my tracks. “Oh shit, Prompto!” I didn’t wait for Cor to say anything else. Pulling out my phone, I hit number three on my speed dial and prayed to every god I knew that Prompto would pull his head out of his ass and pick up.

_“I’m sorry, the number you have dialed has been disconnected or is no longer in service—”_

“Fuck!” I growled, resisting the urge to throw the device across the room as I hung up. “What do we do now?”

“Well, here’s hoping the bounty you put out might actually do us some good in this case. In the meantime, we need to continue scouting out the Empire and preparing ourselves for the battle to come.” Cor’s instructions made sense logistically, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t enough. As I made way for the door, Cor spoke once more. “Gladio—stay focused, now is not the time to do anything brash.” On that note I let the door swing shut behind me, delivering an air of finality as it clicked into its frame.

 

* * *

 

  _ Prompto _

_Day 46 of Light –_

When I arrived at Angelgard, I was immediately struck by the number of boats moored there. They ranged from the most meager of skiffs to full scale cruisers, and getting my ship situated amongst them all was no easy task on my own. After I managed to find a place to drop anchor, I had to paddle out a bit onto the desolate shore, holding my guns overhead to ensure they didn’t get soaked. On land once more, I tucked my weapons into the waistband of my pants and removed my soaked shirt and jacket, tossing them over the branch of a nearby tree to dry. What I wouldn’t have given for some fire magic in that moment.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are…” I murmured as I began to explore. There seemed to be a naturally worn path leading further inland, so I followed it, taking care to keep my wits about me. The further I got onto the island, the more I was amazed at how much thick vegetation covered it. It didn’t seem like the Long Night had any negative impact on the plant life. Maybe it was a “holy” place after all. It took twenty minutes of walking before I began to smell smoke and hear the steady humming of voices in the distance. I treaded more carefully, pulling out one pistol—just in case. I wasn’t entirely sure these “Astralians” would want to be disturbed, especially since they had made a point to come all the way to a formerly deserted island to worship.

When I was relatively sure I was almost upon an encampment of some sort, I stepped off the path into the brush, circling around quietly. I searched in one jacket pocket for a specially designed monocle, affixing it to my face and tapping one of the myriad buttons on the side. Instantly, my vision was heightened and as I zoomed in to look between the trees, I found what I was looking for.

A group of about thirty people were assembled around a campfire, dressed from all walks of life. There were men and women, even a few children. I spied one person in hunter’s garb, and more in clothes suggesting they were from regions outside of Lucis, such as Tenebrae and Altissia. I couldn’t hear much of what they were saying, but many were smiling and laughing. Suddenly, a young woman walked into view and I had to do a double take. She had long, golden hair down to her hips, tightly braided and wound into one long strand, and was wearing a flowing white dress that hit just above her ankles. I was immediately reminded of Lunafreya, but as my gaze focused on her face, I could see there were obvious differences, mostly the sharp lines of her cheekbones and deep amber eyes.

It was obvious from the way the others reacted that she was the leader of the group. People hastened to make a place for her and bring her food and drink. One man even stood up from his chair and brought it over to her. I watched for a while longer, but after about thirty minutes of nothing other than intermingling amongst the group members, I decided it was time to move on and see what else I could find. I tapped another button on my monocle to zoom back out and moved quickly through the trees away from the camp until I rejoined the pathway.

After about half a mile the trail got steeper as it began to climb the base of the mountain. “Damnit, and here I thought my hiking days were over with,” I grumbled. I trudged on though, and eventually was rewarded with a separate path that dipped down into what appeared to be some sort of cavern. Hesitating at the mouth of it, I weighed my options. “Small, dark spaces leading to who knows where, _or_ a wide, expansive island full of unknown wonders!” In my mind I imagined Noct laughing at me. _“What, you scared because I’m not going in with you?”_ He would say. I puffed my chest up and pressed another button on my eyepiece to activate a powerful light. Taking a deep breath, I steeled myself mentally for what I was about to get into and plunged myself down into the depths of Angelgard.

At first it seemed like your typical, dank, dungeon, not unlike the tombs I had explored with Noctis, Ignis, and Gladiolus in our youth. However, it quickly became apparent by the foreign runes on the walls as I got deeper into darkness that this wasn’t just someone’s run-of-the-mill place to stash hidden treasures. Turning a sharp corner, I had to quickly shut my light off because I was blinded by something brilliant and reflective. Blinking aggressively, I let my eyes adjust to the otherworldly blue light and then stifled a gasp.

“Holy Shiva…” Before me was a gorgeous cavern roughly the size of the Citadel itself. The walls were lined with what could only be described as glowing translucent crystals, each made the more brilliant by the large pool below them that reflected their light. In the center of the water was an island, big enough for a small group of people to stand on, and in the water directly behind it was a large pile of white stones arranged carefully into a shrine. I wasn’t sure if I should go closer, but now I knew I had no choice.

The water wasn’t too deep, and to my surprise, wasn’t very cold either. I waded carefully to the island and peered into the shrine. Shocked, I leaned in closer for a better look. “It can’t be…” Sitting on a small altar were two photographs, one of Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, and the other of my best friend, Noctis Lucis Caelum. I spied a tray of ashes from where someone had been burning incense recently, and a tattered tome of cosmogony. Curious, I picked up the book and flipped through it. Ancient drawings of the Six abounded. “I guess Cindy _was_ right,” I marveled. This must be where they worshipped, I assumed. Turning to the picture of Noct, I took it in both hands, smiling to myself.

“Never thought I’d see the day where someone worshipped you as a god,” I chuckled. The picture was relatively old, from Noctis’s high school days, and was obviously taken from some ceremony or another prior to when we were sent out of the Crown City. He had an apathetic look on his face, but for someone who didn’t know him, they would see a stoic, albeit handsome prince gazing off into the distance, considering something serious. “You were probably worried because you hadn’t studied for exams, huh?” Laughing, I returned the picture to its perch and took another look around.

“What are these things?” Marveling at the crystals, I waded back into the pool towards one of the rounded walls, intent on investigating. Before I could reach one though, I heard a chorus of voices drawing nearer. Panicking somewhat, I crouched down into the water, peeking just the bridge of my nose over the surface so I could breathe. As slowly as possible, I moved backwards to the edge of the wall and hoped that whoever was coming wouldn’t think to look too hard at anything other than the shrine in front of them.

Much to my surprise, Talcott, flanked by several members of the Kingsglaive entered with swords and guns drawn, obviously on high alert. I felt my balls shrivel as I sank even lower in the pool. _Fuck, fuck, fuck_ —did they know I was here? I had to get out of the cave, but as far as I could tell there was only one way in or out of the shrine. Best just to stay put and hope for the best.

I watched with bated breath as Talcott and the men inspected the shrine just as I had. Hopefully they would take their fill of the small monument, meet with the locals, and call it a day. “Fan out and look around. There may be something we’re missing,” Talcott ordered. I lifted my gaze to the ceiling, cursing inwardly. I had no choice now—I had to move. Thinking fast, I reached for my belt and unclipped a bullet from one of several ammo containers I had hidden on my person. Slowly, so not to attract attention, I slid along the outer rim of the area, circling back towards the entrance. I paused when one of the men turned in my direction. Just as his head swiveled away from me, I threw the bullet as hard as I could toward the shrine. It bounced off one of the stones with a satisfying “thwack” that made everyone’s heads whip away from where I was hiding.

“What was that?” Someone asked. I began to move as quickly as I could without splashing and had just managed to slip back onto dry land when someone else said: “Hey, someone’s there!” I heard guns cocking and decided it was long past time for stealth. I bolted as quickly as I could back into the tunnel, hitting the light on my monocle as I ran to illuminate my way out. Shouts rang out after me and I loaded my weapon with blanks while on the run.  

My lungs were burning by the time I saw the sky again, but I couldn’t slow down. Not having any idea where to go, I veered a hard left back into the thicket and thundered through the underbrush. As long as the Kingsglaive was on my trail there wasn’t a moment to lose. I needed a more reliable hiding spot, but where? My eyes scanned as I vaulted past trees and rocks. Eventually I came to another pathway, and I began to jog, ears straining for signs of pursuit. What I did hear gave me further pause—a gun cocking.

“Hold it right there.” A cool barrel pressed into the back of my neck, causing the hair to raise on my arms as I lifted my hands in the air. How had someone gotten behind me without me seeing them?

“H-hey there! Name’s Prompto. I’m not here to cause any trouble, so if you put that thing down, I’ll be on my way.” I tried to sound as lighthearted and non-threatening as possible.

“Is that so? Why you runnin’ so fast then, huh? And why are _they_ chasing you?” He demanded. I could hear loud voices less than a mile away and winced.

“It’s a long story, one I’d _love_ to tell you if my life weren’t in danger. Please, all I did was come here to worship!” Okay, so it was a little white lie, but if my assumptions were correct, this had to be one of the Astralians and this might be the only way I’d be able to get them to listen to me. For a moment it was just the shouting of the Kingsglaive I heard as the man behind me contemplated my claims. Eventually, the cool kiss of metal removed itself from my skin and I breathed a sigh of relief. Turning slowly, I came face-to-face with the hunter I had seen around the camp earlier.

“C’mon then, follow me. But nothing funny or I won’t hesitate to shoot ya, all right?” He grunted. My head bobbed up and down in emphatic agreement as he led the way over a nearby ridge and down a winding path, once again into the side of the mountain. At some point we seemed to pass through a shimmering curtain, one I never would have seen if my new companion hadn’t paused briefly before passing through it.

“Is that—magic?” I wondered, unable to hide my amazement.

“Save your questions for Angelique. She’ll be able to tell you more than I will.”

“Oh yeah? Who’s Angelique?” I asked enthusiastically, already knowing the answer. She had to be the woman in the white dress.

What the man told me next, I couldn’t believe. “She’s the new Oracle.” Laughing brazenly, I stopped, hands on my hips.

“Excuse me— _what_? The House of Fleuret was destroyed. There aren’t any Oracles left,” I pointed out.

The man looked to me with some irritation, and for the first time I actually took note of his features. He had to be in his late forties, and his dark hair was graying at the edges, matching the color as his eyes. While he had a full beard, it was shorter and well kept. Stocky and muscled, he wasn’t much taller than me, but the scars on his forearms spoke of experience and a rough life.

“Listen kid, I don’t know what to tell you other than she’s the real deal. If you came here to join us, then you might as well keep your mouth shut and learn a thing or two.” He had a point. Besides, if I was going to keep out of sight from Talcott and the others, I needed to blend in. There was no harm in playing along for now.

“Sorry, you’re right. It’s just hard to believe after all these years, y’know? Like I said, I’m Prompto. Didn’t quite catch your name…”

“Levi Rains. We’re almost there.” He returned to the path and I followed without question this time. For a moment we briefly dipped back into the earth, but the tunnel was short enough that I could see the light on the other side. When we emerged we were in a large field with the tallest trees I had ever seen in all my journeying throughout Lucis. They looked as if they touched the sky, and through their expansive canopy I could spy the sun poking through their emerald leaves. Within the glade were several small wooden huts, and while simple, appeared sturdily built.

“Is this where you live?” I spun in a circle, inhaling as deeply as I could. As silly as it seemed, the air itself felt alive and filled me with unknown energy. 

“Yep, this is it,” Levi confirmed with a chuckle.

“Prompto Argentum?” Stunned, I looked in the direction of the unknown voice, and rested my eyes on the face of Angelique.

“How do you…?” The woman approached, and I swore that it was Lunafreya before me. The way she walked and moved, and even the tone of her voice, but my eyes told a different story.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” she said calmly. At this, Levi raised an eyebrow. Okay, so maybe she wasn’t an Oracle, but I was pretty sure we had never met before. What was going on? Had I walked into a trap of some kind?

“Oh?” I folded my arms over my chest, suddenly painfully aware of my lack of shirt and jacket. She smiled in such a disarming way it had me wondering if I had dropped my gun down my pants, but it would have been rude to check. 

“I’d be honored if you joined us for worship this evening,” Angelique went on. I eyed her curiously, unsure of where this was going, but too intrigued to leave. “Don’t worry, those men won’t be able to track you here,” she assured me. Well, there it was then. If I wanted safety from bounty hunters, it looked like I’d have to join the Astralians.

“Prompto Argentum, at your service miss.” I added a bow for good measure, just in case. One could never be too sure these days.

 

* * *

 

_ Ignis _

_Day 47 of Light –_

I awoke to the aggressive vibrations of my phone on the nightstand and an uncomfortable pounding behind my eyes. “Good gods, what time is it?” I groaned as I reached for the device. An electronic voice chirped in response to my question: “ _It is, eleven, thirty, a.m.”_ That caused me to sit up faster than I had hoped, subsequently invoking a wave of nausea. “Who’s calling?” I sputtered, holding back last evening’s (excellent) dinner that threatened to surface. _“Gladiolus. Amicitia.”_

“Answer!” I retorted, hoping it hadn’t yet gone to voice mail. Gladio’s voice immediately boomed over the speaker.

“Iggy, is that you? I thought something had happened! I’ve been calling all morning!” My brows furrowed as I searched for the jacket I vaguely remembered draping across the chair closest to my bed. I pulled Prompto’s gift from out of the pocket and affixed it quickly.

“Not so loud, won’t you?” Partially begging, I groaned as I flopped back on the pillow.

“Are you sick?” Gladio’s demanded incredulously. “I haven’t been able to get in touch with Iris either, is everything okay?”

“Yes, more than okay,” I paused, deciding to leave the details of getting drunk with Gladio’s younger sister for another day. “I apologize for my delay in response, I didn’t mean to trouble you. Do you have news?” As Gladiolus dived into a detailed reply, I began to gather myself together and move into the restroom to freshen up.

“Cor gave me some bad news—the Empire created, get this, daemon _clones_. Apparently, they have more than we can count hidden underground. _And_ they’ve improved their Magitek technology somehow. The worst part is, Prompto might be in danger. The Marshal mentioned there’s some sort of master trigger to control the Magitek soldiers, and he thinks Prompto might fall into that category.” I put one hand to my temple, the other holding the phone at a distance. “Not to mention that I haven’t been able to get in touch with Talcott. I was going to ask if you and Iris could head that way. I have a bad feeling about the light one of my local informants reported last night.” Gladiolus’s final point somehow managed to clear my aching brain long enough to process.

“A light? Coming from Angelgard?” I questioned suspiciously.

“Yeah, something he described like a giant tower stretching to the heavens,” Gladio confirmed, his tone suggesting he felt the same as I did. “Listen Ignis, I have no choice but to go to Niflheim with Cor and the Kingsglaive. I know it’s a lot to ask considering everything you have on your plate, but we need to find Prompto—and fast.”

“Not to worry, I’ll take up the search,” I promised.   

“Thank you.” There was a longer pause.

“Gladiolus? Are you there?” I could hear Gladio clear his throat brusquely.

“Ignis, I’m counting on you.” He hung up. Gently laying the phone beside the sink, I glanced at my reflection. “Oof, I think I quite preferred _not_ knowing how awful I look hungover,” I mused. Pushing aside all remaining self-pity, I began to get ready for what was sure to be a long and arduous day.

 

* * *

 

_ Gladiolus _

_Day 49 of Light –_

I never thought I would see the day when I would return to Gralea. Our airship landed as the sun peeked over the horizon, illuminating a gray world composed primarily of rubble, what remained of Niflheim’s once powerful capital. It was here that Cor informed me they had found the daemons. Recalling our initial mission to recover the Crystal of Lucis from Zegnautus Keep, I couldn’t say I was surprised. We hadn’t stuck around long after the Crystal had absorbed Noctis. The place had been crawling with all sorts of monsters, and Prompto in particular had been all too eager to leave. After all, who could blame him after he was taken captive?

Now that I was forced to relive those awful moments, I could feel my pulse in my throat as we made our way into the abandoned facility. With the Marshal and the Kingsglaive by my side I knew I didn’t have anything to fear, but my senses were on high alert nonetheless. “Our mission is to obtain the remaining files and get out as quickly as possible,” Cor reiterated. I nodded, falling in stride beside him as we moved into formation. He had his trusty katana in hand, and I held my sword over my shoulder, moving swiftly forward. Cor had studied the blueprint and we moved through the empty hallways without resistance, yet something felt off. Why had we not run into any daemons?

Inside the main command center we split up, small groups rifling through filing cabinets and confiscating hard drives wherever they could find them. Cor and I stood at attention, taking care to secure the perimeter. “Any idea on where that override key might be?” I asked hopefully. Cor shook his head.

“Many of the files are encoded. It will take some time to decipher them.” Of course, nothing was ever easy.

Unable to contain myself, I asked: “Why haven’t we seen any monsters yet?” 

“I’m hoping the sun will keep them at bay,” Cor ventured.

Our conversation was interrupted by a loud “boom!” that came from deeper within the complex. Wordlessly, the Kingsglaive reassembled and we moved on, weapons at the ready. As we traveled through a narrow hallway, an unnatural clacking could be heard up ahead and Cor held up a hand for us to stop. From around the corner sauntered a menacing looking beast, what could only be described as a scorpion with robot appendages and a deadly stinger dripping with a toxic substance.

“You were saying, Marshal?” I joked.

“Less talking, more killing!” Cor gave the signal and the Kingsglaive plunged forward into the fray, metal ringing against metal as the daemon roared in fury. My body moved on autopilot, dancing around the Marshal and my comrades like a well oiled machine.

“Watch it!” I yelled as the scorpion reared back, it’s barb jutting forward. One of the Kingsglaive was too slow, he wasn’t going to make it. In a desperate attempt to save him I lunged forward with my blade, blocking the scorpion’s tail. In the same instant the poisonous prick slid down my sword, scratching my forearm. Damn, it burned!

Cor made a quick movement, successfully severing the appendage and causing the daemon to cry out in pain. It shuffled backwards in retreat, thrashing about and cutting deep scratches along the walls as it disappeared around the corner. “Report!” Cor called.

“All accounted for, sir,” one of his men replied.

“Gladio?” Cor asked as he retrieved an antidote from his pack. I glanced down at the wound, which was now festering and bubbling an awful yellow color on my skin.

“I’ll live,” I confirmed, trying not to wince from the sting. He tossed me the antidote to use and I nodded my thanks. We pressed on to complete our search, but never managed to find the daemon again, or any others for that matter. As the sun started to make its descent, we took our leave, departing for Lucis once more. It would take some time to go through all of the files we had found, and I was eager to hear what Ignis and Iris had uncovered in my absence.

 

* * *

 

_ Prompto _

_Day ?? of Light –_

Have you ever had a dream within a dream? Where you wake up, then find yourself in a worse situation than when you first closed your eyes?

I sat up slowly, my body stiff as if I had been asleep for a thousand years. Like a punch in the face, my most recent memory came rushing back to me—worshipping with the Astralians at the shrine of Angelgard. I had followed them there at nightfall and had even learned some of their names and stories. Most of them simply wanted answers now that Lucis was kingless, so they sought the only source that could possibly know what the future held—the gods. Of course, understanding them required an Oracle, and the Long Night hadn’t given anyone a chance to consider that maybe, just maybe, the Fleuret family wasn’t the only one who could procure them (at least according to this group). What bothered me is that no one could tell me where Angelique came from. Was she like Gentiana, a sacred messenger? Or was she truly just another human, blessed from birth? How had they all come to assemble there? The response I got was that they simply felt “drawn” to the island, and that when they set out to find answers, they found each other—but I wasn’t entirely buying it.

I remember watching as they entered the crystalized cavern and assembled themselves before the shrine. Angelique lit a stick of incense and bowed to both Noctis and Lunafreya before facing her small group of followers. Then, she began to sing. Her voice was ethereal and beautiful, but she sang in a language I couldn’t comprehend. As her voice reverberated among the stone walls, something peculiar started to happen: the crystals glowed even brighter. I gazed up in wonder as the entire cave filled with an unnatural light, squinting from its power.

There, amongst the crystals, I saw the outlines of celestial figures, some of which I recognized from Noctis’s summons—the Six were here, although not in solid form. I could sense their spirits looking down upon the people gathered, and on me. Angelique’s voice was captivating, but even it wasn’t enough to distract me from a sudden burning sensation on the inside of my right wrist. Yanking back the arm band I always wore, I saw to dismay that my magitek barcode was glowing with the same light the crystals were bathed in.

“No, no, no—that can’t be good—

No one heard my frantic commentary over the power of Angelique’s voice, but the pain was intensifying and I had to do something. Rushing to the water’s edge, I plunged my wrist into the liquid.

Then I woke up here. Wherever _here_ was. The room (if you could call it that) seemed to stretch on endlessly in every direction and was as white as the inside of a hospital. The ground where I had been laying was cool, almost metallic in feeling, and sturdy. Not sure what to make of the situation, I started to walk, but with no doors or end in sight, I quickly gave up on that endeavor and sat down to think. I was thankful to find my monocle and guns still in my pants’ pockets, so I pulled them out to fiddle with.

“Hello?” I yelled, tentatively at first, then a little louder. “Hellooooo?” My voice actually echoed. Where the hell was I? I put my monocle on after a minute, fiddling with the settings to zoom as far as possible. I scanned the room carefully once, then once more, still with no luck. I laid down, weighing my options.

One: wait here and see if anyone else showed up. Two: start walking (I _hated_ walking). Or three: make noise and see if I caught anything’s attention. I decided to start at option one and re-evaluate based on how desperate I became. I plopped down, still shirtless, and began to tinker with the monocle. It was the second version of the one I had made for Iggy, and slightly more complicated. I had gotten the idea from one of my weapon’s sight attachments and a piece of magitek armor I had found during the Long Night. It had helped immensely in multiple situations already, and I resolved to start selling them if I ever got off of Angelgard. It had a small camera function too, which I loved, and was discreet enough not to bog me down during battle. Now bored, I switched through the multiple functions while continuing to scan the room. The heat sensor setting made me pause as I caught the teeniest speck in the distance that didn’t match the rest of the room. I paused, staring at it intently to make sure I wasn’t just imagining it, but then it vanished.

Standing, I headed in the direction I last saw the abnormality, head on a swivel as I went. There—another speck in the distance, a fleck of red within a sea of blue and green. Damnit, gone again! This went on for a few more minutes before I realized I was going in circles. Frustrated, I resigned myself to the fact it was probably a glitch in the piece that needed to be fixed and toggled to my camera setting. I snapped a few random photos in each direction before settling down again where I had stopped.

“If this is how I die, is it too much to ask for better scenery…” I lost my train of thought midway through the sentence though because there, reflected in my monocle lens, was one of the photographs I had just taken, and in it was none other than my best friend, Noctis Lucis Caelum.

I ripped the monocle off my face and looked at it from all angles, assuming there must have been some shortage. I swiped left and right between the pictures, thinking I may have imagined it, but there was no denying what was right in front of me- there in the far corner of the room, standing with his body turned at an angle, was Noctis just the way I remembered him from the day he died. My hands shook as my gaze lifted towards the spot it had been taken.

“…Noct?” I ventured feebly. Abruptly, the lights went out, plunging the room into darkness. I’m not ashamed to admit I let out a squeal higher than that of a 10-year-old girl’s. “Shit _—shit!”_  I fumbled with the monocle, quickly hitting the light function as I shoved it back on. My fingers automatically moved to load my pistols and held one in each hand as I crouched, listening for any signs of company. What fresh hell was this, I wondered? Was Angelique playing a game with me?

“Show yourself!” I barked, trying to sound more confident than I felt. The only thing that was worse than being in a small enclosed space was being in a wide open one.

“Bold words, Prompto Argentum.” I whipped to my right and fired into the dark where the unknown voice had spoken. I never heard my bullet hit. Briefly toggling to the night vision for my lens, my stomach dropped when it didn’t pick anything up.

“Who are you? And what do you want?” This was getting old, I thought. Just get it over with!

“You need to see with your own eyes,” the voice exclaimed calmly. Strangely, I couldn’t tell if it was male or female. Hands shaking, I holstered one of my pistols and removed my lens, now in complete darkness.

“What is it you want me to see?” I yelled, fist gripping my remaining weapon. Faster than I could blink, bodies formed from tiny points of light surround me. I held my pistol at eye level, ready to shoot, but realized then what I was dealing with. As the lights brightened, the outlines of fourteen figures became crystal clear, each of which were dressed in kingly raiment and holding royal weapons. I recognized them instantly, for among them was Noctis. They were the legendary Lucian kings.

“Holy shit,” I mumbled. I suddenly knew where I was-- the Astral Plane.

 

* * *

 

_ Ignis _

_Day 50 of Light –_

“I feel this is incredibly unnecessary, given our history,” I protested as I handed over the envelope. Cindy opened it, her eyes growing wide as if surprised to see the money all accounted for. Every cent of 100,000 gil that Gladiolus had promised—the damn fool.

“Well, a girl’s gotta eat, y’know. Besides, I feel bad for tellin’ y’all where he went, but that light on Angelgard has me worried.”

“Now, you’re certain he went there?” I pressed, taking a bite of my food as I did so.

“Oh yes, I’m sure. I even got a friend to keep some eyes on him. He told me yesterday that his boat’s still at the island.”

“Odd that Talcott hasn’t reported it,” I mused, much to Cindy’s displeasure.

“I wouldn’t damn lie to ya, Ignis! If he’s not there I’ll return to the money myself,” she huffed.

“You can keep the money, it’s Gladiolus’s anyways. Thank you, Cindy, truly.” I rose from my seat, laying some extra cash on the table as tip.

“If ya see him, will ya tell him to drop by sometime soon? I got something of his,” she admitted shyly, fidgeting with her hair as she did so. A smirk twitched on the edge of my lips and I coughed to hide it.

“Certainly.” It seemed like running away had been good for Prompto after all.

Stepping out of Takka’s Diner, I immediately picked up the phone. “Call Talcott,” I ordered. The line rang a few times before going to voicemail. “Talcott, this is Ignis. I’ve confirmed that Prompto is rumored to be on Angelgard. Please return my call with an updated report on the Astralians.”

I hung up before heading to where Bierno waited in the car. “Where to next, sir?” He questioned.

“On to Galdin Quay.”  

>>>

We arrived at the parking lot of Galdin Quay just before nightfall, but even as the sun started to set, we weren’t lacking in illumination due to a peculiar beacon emanating from Angelgard which served to shower the ocean and surrounding area in light. I used my monocle to take a better look at the strange phenomenon, and saw others wondering at it from the long boardwalk leading up to the resort. For what it was worth, the unusual occurrence didn’t seem to be hampering the tourism industry in the slightest.

Bierno followed in my wake as I weaved in and out of the crowd without difficulty. We were heading for the port where I had called ahead to reserve a vessel. The captain was waiting for us when we got there and appeared eager to depart. As the cruiser skipped across the waves towards Angelgard, I said a silent prayer to Leviathan to be gracious until we recovered Prompto.

As we entered the island’s cove, I made note of the ships already there. Before we could go ashore however, the boat’s motor sputtered and died suddenly, leaving us to float in the midst of the natural harbor. “Are we out of gas?” I questioned neutrally.

“No, I filled up before we left,” the captain grunted as he went to check on the engine room.

“Do you think it has anything to do with the light, sir?” Bierno offered helpfully. I trained my eye on where he was looking and nodded my agreement.

“It seems we must go on foot from here,” I mused. “Captain, we are going ashore, would you like to join us?” I called down.

“Go on ahead, I’ll keep busy here,” he yelled back. He was gracious enough to provide us with a life raft he had on hand so we wouldn’t have to swim our way to shore. Once our feet were firmly on land, we began to trek into the woods. Pressing the button on the side of my monocle I found the night vision option and went on ahead. Bierno hurried to keep up, fidgety though he was. After he jumped a few times at the noises of the night, I did my best to placate him with mundane conversation.

“Is this your first time doing something like this?”

“Y-yes, sir, I was raised in Lestallum during the Long Night,” he admitted. “My mother sent me to Insomnia to help once the Dawn rose,” Bierno explained. So, he had never ventured far from the city, but was all too familiar with the threat of daemons.

“Have you been trained to use any weapons?”

“Short swords and daggers mostly, but I’m not very good,” he added on apologetically. Without skipping a beat, I pulled one of my daggers out of my inner coat pocket and handed it to him.

“One must never travel unarmed. Borrow this for now,” I urged. He took it solemnly, holding fast to the handle in his right hand. “Keep your eyes peeled, we haven’t had contact with Talcott and the others since they left Galdin Quay four days ago.” As we meandered deeper into the island’s clutches, I took special note of how quiet it was. Having lived in darkness for a decade, one becomes especially accustomed to the sounds of the night, yet Angelgard had none. No crickets chirping their usual song, or animals calling to each other from near and far. Even the roaring of daemons would have been more welcome than this, a deadly silence with intense foreboding.

“Sir, there!” Bierno pointed up ahead to where there was an opening between two larger stones. From inside the rock came a similar glowing light to what now shone in the night sky.

“Proceed with caution, and stay close,” I replied, taking the lead. We wove through the tunnel until we reached an enormous cavern lined with pulsing crystals. Even more amazing than the décor, was what we discovered inside. There, floating in the air as if held by invisible strings, were the missing Kingsglaive men, Talcott, and about thirty other individuals, whom I assumed were the Astralians we had been hearing about. They hung suspended in space above us, staring listlessly into the distance.

“W-what is this?” Bierno squeaked.

“The lights are on, but no one is home,” I thought aloud. Dagger in hand I began to peruse the area, my eyes jumping between individuals until I found who I was looking for. Levitating just above a shrine in the center of the room with eyes closed as if in slumber was-- “Prompto,” I breathed. A weight seemingly lifted from my shoulders at the sight of him and I found myself moving in his direction. He looked no worse for wear than when we had last met, though he was curiously lacking in clothing on his upper half and I noticed that the bar code he often hid was shining brightly from beneath his wrist band.

“Prompto?” I waved my hand and snapped my fingers near his face, but to no avail. He didn’t so much as flinch. I moved to inspect the shrine and surroundings, but other than some tattered photographs, didn’t discover anything of import or clues as to what had happened to the people gathered there.

“What do we do?” Bierno asked, disrupting my train of thought. I turned towards him, only to see his eyes grow wide in fear. I heard it then, a quick “swishing” of something fast leaping out of the water towards me. Acting on instinct I dropped and rolled, only to see a flash of scales move in and out of my monocle’s line of sight. My companion screamed and a clash of metal rang out from where his weapon struck the daemon’s body. Bierno’s attempt at self-defense might have spared his life, but the snake-like creature was already winding around for a second pass. 

“Drop, now!” I shouted, launching my dagger with speed I no longer thought I had. To his credit, he did as I asked, and I watched as the blade soared over his head to find its mark squarely between the eyes of the Naga. The monster roared in pain, but I knew it wasn’t a killing blow. “Run!” I ordered Bierno. Pale faced, he stumbled to his feet and fled. Wasting no time, I sprinted for the dagger he had dropped while the Naga reared up. Its body reached towards the ceiling, knocking aside several of the bodies that were frozen there. In my bones I knew that I should retreat, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave Prompto behind.

“Do your worst,” I hissed. The Naga slithered closer, fangs dripping with a disgusting substance I didn’t recognize. “I much prefer being blind when it comes to ugly bastards like you,” I added, preparing to strike. Before it lunged I could hear its sharp, painful breath as it tensed. My attack occurred in that moment, a slash for the throat at the base of the head. It snapped back in surprise and I twisted to avoid the worst of its counter attack, but was struck down into the water behind the shrine as a result. Sputtering, I hurried to my feet, reading for another blow. The Naga was enraged now, and bleeding heavily. I rolled and jumped to avoid its thrashing, but the tip of the tail managed to run between my legs and I tripped, landing squarely on my back. My dagger jerked forward to block what I knew was coming, fangs longer than both of my arms chomping down in an attempt to swallow me. I held one side of its mouth with my free hand and kicked both feet in front of me to block its bottom jaw.

I could hear its body circling closer at an alarming rate and knew I had to make a decision—either let go and risk being eaten, or wait and be crushed by its grip. Wedging the dagger firmly in the roof of its mouth with a sickening “crunch”, I slid beneath its head as it howled and rolled out from under it with one powerful push. With no weapons left to me, I had no choice but to make a break for the exit. Much to my dismay however, the Naga recognized my plan and lurched ahead, laying its body over the one opening I had. Keeping the monocle trained on it, I backed up towards the shrine, calculating. Even in its agony, it knew it had an advantage and was now in no rush to finish me.

“A slow and painful death, is it?” I questioned bitterly. With my back to the shrine, I looked over my shoulder at Prompto wistfully, my eye catching on a detail I had earlier missed: he still had his weapons. “Gods bless you,” I muttered. The Naga was near, I could feel its putrid breath on my skin. With a single jump, I grabbed both of Prompto’s pistols, intent on turning to face my enemy for one last stand.

Instead, I found myself rapidly transported somewhere else entirely. I had to blink several times for my vision to clear—and _my_ vision it was, with no monocle to be found. Before me stretched an untold expanse of grassy field with no true horizon visible. The sun was shining directly overhead, yet it emitted no warmth, but the sky was the most peculiar of all, as it glowed with a soft blue hue and shifted every time I looked at it. “Where am I?” I wondered in amazement.

“The Astral Plane.” The voice was soft, yet powerful, and there was a faint echo to the words. When I looked to see who it belonged to, I was stunned to find a young woman not unlike the late Lunafreya Nox Fleuret standing behind me. Although different in key features, her presence commanded the same aura. It took everything in my nature not to bow upon seeing her.

“If you don’t mind my asking, who are you?”

“I was sent to help Prompto Argentum, and by extension, you as well.” Her amber eyes pierced through me, and I imagined she could look into my very soul. When she stepped closer, the air shifted around her, filled with a holy light.

“Forgive me, but the last time I was here it wasn’t a very pleasant experience,” I explained warily.    

“You have nothing to fear. I came to take you to His Majesty. There is much to discuss.” Her words were like a bolt of electricity shooting through me.

“His Majesty? You couldn’t possibly mean…?” It was too much to hope for, and I would not let myself be fooled. After all, Ardyn had played tricks on all of us not long ago.

“Follow me, and you shall see,” she promised.

“I am at your mercy,” I agreed. The world around us warped, much like a bubble that was about to pop. We went from the light straight into the darkness, and I found myself more relieved than afraid.

 

* * *

 

_ Gladiolus _

_Day 50 of Light –_

When I returned to Insomnia, I found that Ignis had already departed for Hammerhead. He left a note for me on the kitchen table, saying he was following a lead on Prompto before heading to Angelgard and that he would call when he had news. At the bottom of the note he had scrawled:

P.S. Aranea dropped by to see you. You can’t avoid her forever.

I sighed heavily, remembering my last conversation with her all too well. It had been a week after Noctis’s death, and Iggy and I had just finished erecting the tomb at Angelgard. We completed it in a haze after three days of minimal food or sleep. Prompto was nowhere to be found, but I had agreed with Ignis to give him his “space.” By the time we returned to Insomnia, more people had arrived there, including her, but we were in no place to have intelligent conversation. I almost had to carry Ignis into the apartment we had claimed as our own due to sheer exhaustion.

It was a whole other point of contention that I insisted he stay with me in Insomnia. He had protested that he had gotten used to living alone for ten years without having to take care of anyone. I shot back that beyond the convenience of it all, it would allow me to keep an eye on him and keep him safe. We fought over it the entire trip home, but I think he eventually grew too tired to argue and gave in to silence me.

Before Noctis’s death Aranea had asked me to prove my commitment to her if I was serious about getting married one day. I told her it would have to wait until after the battle was won. With both of us being experienced soldiers, we knew relationships were different depending on whether we were at war or at peace. The only time Ignis ever brought it up was on that day where we stumbled into the apartment and laid on the floor, both of us too tired to make it to our beds. I knew that he didn’t approve of my relationship with the mercenary, but he had never said as much out loud.

“What will Aranea think of you rooming with another bachelor, hm?”

“She will have to get over it,” I had shot back boldly. He placed his folded hands on his stomach and I could see him smile out of the corner of my eye.

“Far be it from me to tell you what to do, but is that how you should speak about your future betrothed?” He teased.

“She will understand. You and Prompto come first, especially now.” Without realizing it, my tone of voice had softened. A communal understanding filled the silence. After a few minutes, Ignis cleared his throat to speak.

“You told me once that you played the ‘game’ to stay distracted from the stress of fighting all the time. Did you ever think Aranea might play the same game?” I considered his question seriously, thinking back on the ten years of the Long Night. I wasn’t going to mention in that moment that Aranea had admitted to messing around with Prompto once and how we had almost broken up multiple times over it.

“I’m sure she has, we share a lot of similar traits,” I admitted. “But I think it’s different this time.” Ignis didn’t comment on that. I glanced over to see his chest softly rising and falling, on the verge of sleep. I watched him for a moment, studying the lines of his face and the wrinkles on his brow. Had they always been there? Or had it just taken me ten years to notice?

I was jolted out of my thoughts by my phone buzzing in my pocket. With a groan, I fished it out, then sat up when I saw Aranea was calling. Getting up quietly so not to disturb Ignis, I walked into one of the other empty rooms and answered.

“Hello?”

“Hey beef cake, about time you picked up. Heard you were back in the Crown City and thought you might want to swing by, maybe have a romantic dinner amidst the rubble and candlelight?” I chuckled, which abruptly turned into a yawn.

“I’d love to, but we’re beat. It’s been the longest week in ten years. Can I take a rain check?” There was a pause before she answered.

“Right, of course, how insensitive of me. Just don’t keep me waiting too long, you still have to uphold your end of the bargain, remember?” Her tone was meant to be teasing, but it rubbed me the wrong way, and maybe it was the six hours of sleep in three days, or maybe it was something more sinister, but I couldn’t help myself from snapping back.

“Yeah, once I get over burying one of my best friends and the fact that Prompto has gone AWOL, I’ll give you a call.”

“You don’t need to be a dick, how was I supposed to know when you don’t tell me anything? And what do you mean Prompto is missing, did something happen to him?” The level of concern in her voice only served to irritate me further.

“I’m fine, thanks, but yeah, Prompto is missing. I’m sure he’d answer if you called though so maybe you should try that.” I couldn’t stop myself, even though I knew it wasn’t right. This time, I could hear the hurt behind her words.

“Ooh, okay, I see how it is. Well, once you’ve dealt with your feelings like a goddamn _adult_ , you can come find me. Until then, I don’t need to put up with this shit. Bye, Gladio.” The line clicked and I immediately knew I’d done some serious damage, but I was too angry in the moment to care. Without my knowing, tears had slipped down my face. I noticed them for the first time and wiped them away roughly. If I didn’t get some sleep soon there was no telling what else I might do, so I resolved to turn off my phone and get some shut-eye.

I couldn’t explain why I didn’t go sleep on one of the beds in the apartment. It certainly would have been more comfortable. Maybe it was all that time spent camping and the memories it brought forth, but I chose instead to go lay down beside Ignis on the living room floor. His body radiated heat beside me, and as I closed my eyes, I imagined we were somewhere in the wilderness, the four of us together around a campfire. It was the best night of sleep I had gotten since Noctis had died.

Now, my phone was ringing, and once again it was Aranea, but the difference was that we hadn’t spoken in almost two months and I had no idea what she could want, except maybe to yell at me. I had fought many monsters in my time, but no one matched her fierceness when she was angry. Preparing for the Trial of Aranea, I took a deep breath and picked up the phone.

“…hello?”

“I didn’t think you would answer,” she admitted with surprise. I noticed that she sounded tired, or maybe a little defeated. There was a sharp pang in my chest, which I immediately suppressed.

“Well, you wouldn’t call if it wasn’t important,” I muttered lamely. Thankfully, she ignored my idiocy.

“How have you been?” Her question was sincere, with no hidden agenda, and I struggled with whether to put up a strong front or tell the truth. Knowing it was long past time to apologize, I went for honesty over strength.

“Things have been rough. Busy, as expected, and a bit hectic. We still haven’t found Prompto, although he did apparently leave word with Holly that he was okay.”

“Still missing, huh? That kid does like to make you guys worry,” she replied gently. I ignored all feelings of jealousy that popped up, and instead asked a question of my own.

“How about you? Keeping busy?” I knew it was superficial, but I was still trying to gather the right words to express how sorry I was for how I had treated her the last time we spoke.

“Plenty of work around, so, yeah. Been helping to restore power and work on civilian relocation. Airships are good for that. Noticed there was something weird happening at Angelgard, but I assume you guys are on top of it.” My mind wandered to Ignis and Iris then. I had told them to go to Angelgard together, but Ignis had insisted he go alone to free up Iris for “more important work.” He was supposed to have headed that way after stopping in Hammerhead.

“Ignis is supposed to be there now, but I haven’t heard anything yet,” I admitted.

“I’m surprised, don’t you usually track his whereabouts?” Aranea joked. I knew she was testing to see if I would get angry this time, but I was careful not to take the bait.

“You know how important he is to me,” was all I said.

“I’m breaking up with you, Gladio,” she retorted matter-of-factly. A lot of emotions came to the surface along with her words, but to my surprise, anger and grief weren’t among them. Instead, I felt more apathetic, and almost—relieved. I must have been quiet for too long, because she let out a long sigh. “Listen, I like you more than most men, but you’ve got too much going on for me to deal with, and to be honest, I’m tired of waiting for you to figure it out.”

“Figure what out?” I asked numbly.

“Where your priorities lie, muscle head.” There was some venom to her statement. “I was hoping one day you could open up and talk about it, because I think if you did, you’d be the perfect guy- I mean that. You’ve been The Shield for too long, Gladio. It’s time to let it down and let people in.”

I let her words sink in, but still couldn’t bring myself to speak.

“I’ll always love you, but I think it’s time we went our separate ways for now.” There was a vulnerability in her tone that I envied. Of all the woman I had met in life there was no one as strong and as comfortable in who she was as Aranea, and I truly admired that. “If you ever need me to come save your ass, you know I will.” Through her laughter, her voice wavered ever so slightly.

“I love you too, Aranea. And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry.” It was all I could manage without falling apart.

“Good luck, Gladio.” It took me a minute to realize she had hung up. I found myself staring at the phone’s screen blankly, unsure of where to go from here. I figured the least I could do was call Ignis and see if he had made it to Angelgard safely, so I pressed number one on my speed dial. It went straight to voicemail, which was odd. Ignis never turned off his phone, even during important business meetings. The idea that he could be in danger caused a wave of anxiety to overwhelm me, but I forced it back, recalling his words: “… _I need you to trust me_.”

“He’s fine, stop overreacting.” I said it aloud for extra emphasis, and partially to convince myself it was true. Eager for a distraction, I turned the TV on and began to prepare a cup of noodles for my dinner. It was while I was boiling water on the stove that I noticed that the bandage I had used to wrap my arm with had become soiled. After leaving Zegnautus Keep, Cor had cleaned and wrapped it himself to help prevent any chance of infection. Now, the gauze had turned a grayish black color. Frowning slightly, I went to the bathroom and reached under the sink for where I kept my first aid kit, peeling back the roll of tissue slowly.

What I saw beneath stunned me. Not only was the wound reopened, it was now festering with a black, oozing liquid. “ _Shit.”_ I rummaged through the first aid kit for something that might help and plopped down on the toilet to begin cleaning and dressing it. I was so involved in what I was doing that I forgot all about the water on the stove until I heard it boiling over.

“Damnit—” I jumped up quickly, slipping on the gauze roll that I had unknowingly dropped on the floor. The edge of the door frame came at me quicker than expected and I couldn’t catch myself in time. With a loud “BOOM!” my vision went black.

 

* * *

 

_ Prompto _

_Day ?? of Light –_

“I’m glad you lost the beard. To be honest, it kinda weirded me out,” I laughed nervously, not looking at him directly. We sat side by side on a marble bench, the pool beneath our feet reflecting a sky with no sun or moon, just countless specks of lights in a multi-colored sky.

“Yeah, well, your peach fuzz isn’t much better.” His voice was exactly like I remembered, the same bland humor I was used to, and yet, he had aged a thousand years. He was the Noctis I remembered and someone else entirely at the same time.

“It’s not fair, you know, I had to maintain this body for ten whole years and you’re still shredded like cheddar, even in death!” I ventured a look at him now, and his face lit up with a laugh.

“And that’s after ten years of crystal stasis,” he boasted with a grin.

“Bragging isn’t very kingly, ya know.” Then, fearfully: “Am I…dead?”

A chuckle along with that sly grin that always meant trouble. “No, I promise you’re very much alive,” Noctis reassured me.

“So, then, why am I here?” As the lights floated by, I kept feeling like I was about to wake up. Once the kings appeared, I had picked Noctis out immediately. His eyes had changed slightly, as they were more translucent and shone with an otherworldly light, but I could always find my best friend in a crowd. Now that I was with him though, I didn’t know what to say. Or maybe it was because I had too much I wanted to say that I couldn’t find the words.

“Do you remember after we rescued you from the Empire? And we talked about what I wanted to do when I became king?” I thought hard about his question, then met his gaze and nodded slowly.

“You mean about taking down the borders? You were serious?” Noctis placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. For the first time since this entire crazy ordeal, it hit me that I was really talking to my best friend. I looked away for a second, fighting back tears. “So. What does that have to do with me?” Noctis’s face suddenly grew serious as he leaned in towards me, hand still on my shoulder.

“After my death, I learned more about what the Empire was up to in my absence. You know that Besithia was successful in merging magitek with daemons, but what you don’t know is that during the Long Night his remaining researchers experimented on the crystal while I was inside it.” I really did not like where this was going.

“O-kay, you’re scaring me a little,” I admitted.

“They began to fuel the magitek and their other advancements with the crystal. New clones were made, Prompto, and now there is a whole army of daemons spawning that don’t rely on the Starscourge to generate. Call it a cruel joke that Ardyn set in motion as a ‘plan B,’ but someone needs to stop it, and that someone is you,” Noctis explained. Great, more daemons, just what I always wanted.

“Awesome! So, come down from the heavens with the help of your god friends and everything should be over quickly, right?” I forced another laugh, jumping to my feet so I would be able to fidget properly. I could feel Noctis’s eyes on me.

“Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. The good thing is, since you were created with magitek you can also draw on the power of the crystal now.” I stopped, fingers half way curled around a long strand of hair, and did a slow turn in his direction.

“Excuse me, come again?” Now I definitely knew I was dreaming.

“How do you think the Astralians were drawn to Angelgard? Or you were able to restore Ignis’s sight with your monocle?” Noctis asked pointedly. Did he mean that all of those people gathered here were created using magitek technology and were just responding to the crystal buried there? My head spun as I tried to put all the pieces together. “Prompto, you have the power to stop this new threat.”

My heart was racing now. Noctis stood, reaching out to me once more, but this time I danced out of reach. “I didn’t ask for this, Noct,” I exclaimed. Without realizing it, my voice started to rise. “I was created to be a follower, remember? A nobody, to support _you_! And I did that to the best of my ability, but what you’re asking is too much. I’m not a hero. I couldn’t even be there for Gladio and Ignis when they needed me. I couldn’t be there for when they buried you, I--!” I was shouting and crying incoherently, making a mess of things, as always. This was why I left, because now that Noctis was dead I was officially more than useless. How could I even begin to do what he was asking?

“Prompto.” His voice cut through it all, and suddenly he was the friend of my youth, teasing me. “You won’t be alone. We walk tall together, remember?” I noticed then that the thirteen kings of legend where reflected in the pool of water beneath our feet, and even more notably, Luna too. When I looked behind me, she was standing there, a sylleblossom crown woven into her golden hair.

“L-lady Lunafreya.” I bowed this time, my vision blurring with unshed tears.

“Prompto, it is so good to see you after all this time.” When she took my hands in hers I couldn’t meet her gaze. Luna’s touch was warm and soothing, and even as she turned my right hand over to inspect the barcode on my wrist, I found myself calmed by her presence. “Take heart, and know that we go with you.”

“But what if… what if I fail? What will become of Eos?”

“We will lend you our strength. Noctis and I have great faith in you. If you embrace your path, you will not fail,” she said reassuringly. Swallowing hard, I looked between her and the Chosen King of Lucis. Their level of trust was humbling, if not a bit overwhelming, but it looked like I had no choice but to accept my role in all of this.

“This is for you,” Lunafreya added as she pressed something into my hand. Opening my palm, it revealed a white ring with a crimson jewel set in a star shaped center. My eyes widened.

“This is isn’t _the_ ring, is it?” I gulped before Noctis tapped me lightly on the head with the edge of his blade.

“No, you idiot, we’re not trying to kill you. This is to help activate your full potential, and so you can remain connected to the Astral Plane. We’re sending a messenger with you,” he explained.

“Oh sweet, Gentiana is coming with me?” I questioned excitedly. I’d never spent quality time with a heavenly messenger before.

“No, you will just have to settle for me,” another voice answered. Noctis and I looked in unison to see Angelique strolling across the pool, an illusion that made it seem like she was walking on water. A familiar face traveled in her wake.

“Iggy!” We yelled at the same time and ran to him, colliding in a group hug that had me crying all over again. He was shell shocked from the sudden reunion, so we stepped back to give him time to compose himself. After a moment of stunned back-and-forth glances, he reached to adjust glasses that were no longer there. Catching himself, he placed a finger on the bridge of his nose in contemplation.

“I suppose the Naga must have killed me, but this isn’t so bad after all,” he decided.

“You’re not dead yet, my friend, but know there is always a place for you here among the kings,” Noctis laughed, grasping Ignis’s arm firmly. My heart swelled just being in close proximity to Noct and Iggy again. If only Gladio were here to see it—which reminded me…

“How did you find this place, Iggy?” I asked curiously. Ignis shot me a calculating look.

“Well, I was doing a bit of bounty hunting and happened to be on my way here when Cindy tipped me off as to your whereabouts. Oh, and by the way, she says she has something of yours that she would like to return.” Noctis cast me a sly look, which I deflected by changing the subject.

“And Gladio? Is he… still angry?” I pretty much knew the answer to that one, but a guy could dream.

“I’m sure once he sees you, all will be right in the world.” Ignis answered evasively. He always knew what to say to make a person feel good, even if he wasn’t always entirely truthful.

“Tell Gladio I said hey,” Noctis requested with a smile. “It’s a shame he couldn’t come along for this.”

“He will be devastated,” Ignis agreed. The seriousness of his expression made Noct pause.

“But now you know you will see us again,” the king declared. Luna moved to take his hand, leaning in close to his side. “I’ll send as much help as I’m able. I’m still getting used to being the Chosen King,” he admitted. Ignis and I exchanged a knowing look.

“Why am I not surprised?” Ignis asked, a smirk twitching up the corners of his mouth. “This is farewell for now, but not forever,” he confirmed. Without speaking, the three of us embraced once more. Luna hugged both of us in turn as well before we stepped back, Angelique quietly moving to stand by my side.

“I hope you never forget how important you are, not only to me, but the world,” Noctis exuded. While he spoke, I committed this image of him to memory, not knowing how long it would be until we saw each other again. The sky began to darken suddenly, everything shrinking into a black hole. Noctis and Luna faded away, swallowed by the night. My friend’s voice echoed as we fell endlessly through the pool below.

“Now, if I remember correctly, you guys have a fight to finish.”

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After returning from the Astral Plane, Ignis and Prompto make it their mission to reunite with Gladio and defeat the threat to Eos.

 

 

_Day 52 of Light -_

Ignis and Prompto fell abruptly back into reality, a reality that included a half dead, fully pissed off Naga daemon who was currently thrashing about the Angelgard shrine, wondering where their bodies had disappeared to just ten seconds earlier. Ignis had no time to be surprised by the fact that his eyesight had fully returned, but instead had to focus on the (large, angry) task at hand.

“Prompto!” Ignis yelled. Prompto moved fluidly to grab the pistol his friend tossed to him and started shooting without question, eyes trained on the snake that had them in its sight. Ignis moved in the opposite direction, firing in unison with Prompto. As shots rang out, the pops of fire from the two gun barrels reflected off the crystals that steadily glowed around them. It was after one such instance that Prompto noticed the ring Luna had given him and his barcode were both illuminated with the same crystalline light.

The Naga was beginning to wear down, no match between the coordinated efforts of friends who had fought alongside each other on countless occasions, but both Prompto and Ignis knew that it would only become more unpredictable the closer it got to death. Never taking his eyes off of the monster, Prompto began to reload his weapon when the Naga suddenly wound into a tight ball, head swinging back and forth as if in warning. Ignis and Prompto both backed up cautiously as the Naga’s eyes began to glow.

“That doesn’t look good!” Prompto commented anxiously.

“Couldn’t agree more. Let’s hurry and finish this,” Ignis urged as he made his way to his friend’s side. The two began an aggressive assault on the Naga as it hissed menacingly, mouth opening wide. Prompto saw the venom coming at him, but couldn’t move fast enough. Luckily, he didn’t have to, because Ignis was ready for it and pushed him roughly out of harm’s way.

“Iggy!” Prompto screamed as he saw his friend go down in front of him. “No, no, no—gods _damnit_ , not now,” Prompto railed at no one in particular. He snatched the other pistol from Ignis’s hand and went straight for the Naga’s head, rage engulfing him as he went. “No more of my friends are dying on my watch,” the blonde sharpshooter declared. Something strange happened then. He could feel his guns shifting, no, _transforming_ , in his hands. Prompto looked down and saw that one had attached to his right arm, growing until it was a part of him, and gaining some serious firepower in the process. The other had gained some luminescent decals down the barrel, which had also lengthened. Now was not the time to ask questions though, now was the time to shoot.

With the slightest flick of Prompto’s hand, the right arm began to fire, the recoil sending shock waves through his body as large shells barreled into the Naga’s face. He pulled the trigger of the long barreled handgun in unison, the bullets bright with the Crystal’s energy. When his attacks landed, they tore human sized holes in the Naga’s already battered body, and the shells from Prompto’s larger firearm only served to finish the job. The booms reverberated, shaking the ground. The final exclamation point was when the remains of the Naga fell, causing the water surrounding the shrine to explode into the air like mines detonating.

Ignoring it all, Prompto rushed to Ignis’s side to survey the damage, his weapons automatically reverting to their original forms. He tossed them aside, using both hands to pull Ignis into a sitting position. “Iggy? Iggy, talk to me!” Ignis was covered head to toe in a black, unfamiliar substance that bubbled on his skin, which Prompto assumed was the venom the daemon had expelled from its fangs. “You told me you would help me—so help me!” Prompto screamed in desperation. 

In response, the red stone on his ring shone blindingly. Prompto looked away for a few seconds, and when he turned back he nearly jumped out of his skin to see a small, foxlike creature sitting unimposingly before him. It was larger than your typical cat with fur as white as snow, and ears much too big for its body. Sitting squarely in the middle of its forehead was a prominent stone, similar in color to the one on the ring given to him by Luna. “If this is supposed to be my messenger, it’s not funny, Noct,” Prompto grumbled. Ignoring the animal that now watched him with its feline eyes, Prompto reached into his friend’s pocket for Ignis’s phone, only to find it wouldn’t turn on.

“Fucking _work_ , damnit!” Prompto complained. He was starting to panic, but he couldn’t have a melt down just yet, not if he wanted to have any hope of saving Ignis. The fox-cat moved ever so slightly, nose nudging the screen. “You’re cute and all, but I already tried—” Prompto paused as his barcode pulsed, the phone flickering to life along with it.

“…all right, so that’s handy.” He gave the creature his full attention now, directing his question towards it. “Are you… Angelique?” It made a small mewing nose, which he took for confirmation. “Weird flex, but okay. Any idea how you’re supposed to guide me when you’re a furball instead of a human?” Angelique hopped onto Prompto’s shoulder, forcing him forward with the motion. “H-hey! I’m not into any of that kinda stuff, just so we’re clear-” Her head pressed to his and he could hear her voice clear as day in his mind.    

      “ _It is easier to listen when one doesn’t speak so much,”_ she chastised.

“What about Iggy? How do I help him?” Prompto asked as he stood, attempting to drag the taller man up with him and staggering from his weight. Maybe she was impatient, or perhaps she wanted to show instead of tell, but Angelique touched her crystal to Prompto once more, causing him to be enveloped in a flash of red light.

“Woah!” When the energy around him subsided, he looked around for Angelique, but the fluffy creature was nowhere to be seen. “Great, just great…” He didn’t finish his thought, because there, just above his barcode was a new tattoo taking up the length of his forearm—a stylized version of the animal from the Astral Plane sent to him by Noctis. “Listen lady, I’m not crazy about people putting their mark on me when we’ve only just met.”

 _“Do you always talk this much?”_ Her voice rang out amongst his thoughts like a knife cutting through butter. _“Place your right hand on him,”_ she urged.

Deciding to follow her instruction, Prompto did as he said. The same red rays now shot across Ignis’s body, wrapping him in a cocoon. Prompto watched in amazement as the black sludge literally melted away, leaving him unscathed. He took comfort in seeing Ignis’s eyes flicker open, and was able to help him onto his own two feet.

“That was exhilarating,” Ignis said dryly, much to Prompto’s chagrin.

“Don’t make a habit of it, okay, Iggy?” The two of them looked to find the remaining bodies that had been suspended during their fight with the Naga returning to the ground and regaining consciousness. “You should probably call Gladio and let him know we’re all right,” Prompto added, to which Ignis grunted his agreement.

As Ignis turned to make the phone call, Prompto went to speak with Talcott and the Kingsglaive, who were more than a little shocked to see him. The phone rang several times before going to voicemail. Typically, Gladio answered on the second or third ring, but according to the clock the time was late (had it really been three days?), and it was possible that he was sleeping, so Ignis left a message. “Gladio, all is well, and there is much to report. I have Prompto with me and we will be departing for the Crown City post haste. I am eager to share everything we have seen… we will discuss everything in the morning. Until then, my friend.”

He put the phone away to overhear Talcott giving Prompto a hard time for running off. “We were all worried about you, I’m so glad you’re okay. And boy, is Gladio mad!” One of the Kingsglaive nudged Prompto with a knowing look, and he responded with a good natured hand gesture. There was some more intermingling to be had before Talcott and the Kingsglaive took their leave, and Prompto insisted on having a word with the Astralians before we followed.

Approaching Levi, Prompto held out his hand in a gesture of good will. “I’m sorry I doubted you.” Levi accepted the gesture and gave his hand a firm shake.

“Angelique mentioned that she was waiting for someone, but she never mentioned it would be a scrawny kid like you,” he laughed. “Said you were mighty important though, and she hasn’t been wrong yet.” Prompto felt the heat rise on his forearm and resisted the urge to look down at the magical ink that now rested on his skin. “We’ll hold down the fort here until y’all return.”

“Y’all, as in both of us?” Prompto asked, uncertain. Levi nodded with such conviction that it sent a shiver down his spine.

“Seems like ya got a job to do, Prompto. Don’t screw it up.” Ignis stepped forward then, and Prompto appreciated the silent show of solidarity.

“I won’t,” he promised. Levi nodded again before returning to the Astralians. Knowing that Talcott and the others were waiting, Ignis and Prompto gathered their weapons and left the shrine. When they emerged, it was to a dark sky filled with stars. For a few minutes, Prompto and Ignis walked in silence, neither one wanting to be the first to speak. It wasn’t until they could hear the ocean crashing on the shore that Prompto stopped abruptly.

“Iggy, I… thank you, for finding me,” Prompto began. Ignis met his gaze, emerald eyes soft and understanding as always. How Prompto had missed seeing those eyes. “…and I’m sorry for everything. I shouldn’t have made you guys worry—I should have been there when you needed me.” Prompto ran a hand through his hair, doing nothing to improve its already unruly nature.

“What’s important is that you are here now, and soon we will all be together, as we should be,” Ignis replied. Prompto wondered at how he could always be so forgiving and selfless. Truth be told, Ignis had always been the strongest out of the four of them, he was the one always in the background holding them all together. “I suppose I should thank you as well,” Ignis said with a smile as he gestured to his own visage. “For saving my life, and restoring my sight.” Prompto was thankful for the night as it disguised the blush that spread across his freckled face.

“Nah, it wasn’t my doing. It was hers,” he answered, motioning to the tattoo that now nestled on his arm. Ignis leaned in to inspect it more closely, then snapped his fingers in realization.

“Ah, Carbuncle, so now I understand,” Ignis declared.

“Car-what?” Prompto frowned as they resumed walking towards the cove where their boats were still waiting.

“Carbuncle, not one of the Six, but still a deity in her own right. It seems Angelique is more than just a mere messenger, similar to Gentiana,” Ignis went on. Prompto didn’t say anything in reply, suddenly mortified at some of the things he had said to Angelique while they were back in the cave. “Shall we meet again in Galdin Quay and be on our way together?” Ignis suggested as they walked onto the beach. Prompto grinned mischievously.

“A road trip? Like the good ol’ days? Sure, so long as you don’t mind stopping in Hammerhead on the way back,” he bargained. Ignis could now properly roll his eyes and took this opportunity to do so.

“When will you ever learn?” He chided, but knew it was bound to happen sooner or later. Prompto began to whistle cheerfully as they rendezvoused with their comrades, making sure to grab his dried shirt and jacket from the tree where he left them before they departed for Galdin Quay.   

 

_Day 53 of Light -_

The two men rested near the resort that evening and set out at first light. Bierno had made it back safely, along with the captain Ignis initially hired. Ignis entrusted the young assistant into Talcott’s care so he and Prompto could head out on their own. With strict instruction to keep his eyes on the road, Ignis permitted Prompto to take the wheel so he could give Gladio another call. It was after breakfast now, and he surely would have seen his voicemail.

The phone rang, and rang, and rang again. _“You’ve reached High Commander Gladiolus Amicitia. I’m probably busy, but if you leave a message, I’ll get back to you when I can. Thanks.”_ Ignis waited for the beep, then hung up. Instead of leaving another message, he began to compose a text.

En route to Hammerhead with Prompto. Call when you receive this.

He leaned back in his seat and watched the scenery roll by, admiring the sun’s rays as it bathed the countryside in a golden hue. Prompto eventually flipped on the radio and turned up the music, an upbeat hit he recognized from their younger days. He imagined there wasn’t a lot of new songs that had come out during the Long Night, but the familiar tunes were comforting in their own way. Ignis tried not to worry too much about Gladio. He probably went to bed late and had overslept. As soon as he saw that Ignis had tried to contact him, he’d return his call, eager to hear they were both safe.

They reached Hammerhead in record speed. The sun was now high overhead and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky—the perfect day to travel the open roads. Prompto parked in front of Takka’s diner and hopped out. “I’ll be in the diner whenever you’re ready to depart,” Ignis offered before his friend could say anything.

“I’ll try to make it quick,” Prompto promised. Ignis made a noncommittal noise without turning around, leaving Prompto to his mischief.

 _“Why are we here?”_ Angelique’s voice interjected into Prompto’s mind.

 _I, uh, have some unfinished business_ , Prompto thought in response. To his surprise, she seemed to have heard him.

 _“You intend to copulate with the woman?”_ It was more of an accusation than a question deserving an answer.

“I didn’t ask you to come here,” Prompto retorted indignantly.

“Shouldn’t I be the one sayin’ that?” Prompto looked up to find Cindy staring at him from where she stood outside the garage. Her arms were crossed beneath her ample bosom, and she held a wrench in one hand. It was obvious from the dirt on her knees and grease wiped on her thighs that she had already been busy with work this morning.

“Heya, Cindy,” Prompto greeted as cheerfully as he could. “Heard you had something of mine?” Her eyebrows raised and she jerked her head to the side, indicating he should follow her. He wandered into the garage, half expecting to see Cid in his usual spot, but the old man was nowhere to be found. Once they were inside, she pressed a button to automatically close the garage door. Before he could say anything else, she reached inside her jacket and pulled out a thick envelope. Tossing it on the hood of the nearest car, it bust open, spilling gil dramatically onto the floor. “100,000 gil to find yer ass, but I don’t feel completely right takin’ it all from Gladio,” she confessed. “So, how much ya willin’ to do for it, boy?”

“Willing to do, huh? Is that a euphemism, or…?” He ventured, words trailing off as she slowly approached him. Her hips swayed, and for some reason he felt like her shorts had gotten even shorter since he had last seen her, but it looked like she hadn’t aged a single day since their last encounter of this nature. If anything, all the work she had done during the Long Night had been good to her, toning her body far more than any well-oiled machine she put her hands on. When their bodies were almost touching, she reached a hand forward and yanked him into her by his shirt. Lips meeting, Prompto sank into the kiss with a sigh, heat sparking deep inside his body.

“So, ya interested? I’ll even pay ya for services rendered,” she drawled. Prompto couldn’t get his brain to process quickly enough to formulate a witty response so he opted for another kiss, arms wrapping around her. His hands eventually found Cindy’s hips, fingers hooking on the inside of her denim shorts. She sunk her hand into his soft blonde hair, trailing her own fingers down the back of his neck affectionately, while her free hand dropping down to the top button of his pants and unzipped them slowly.

         _“Is this really necessary?”_ Angelique quipped.

 _“_ Not right now…” Prompto hissed under his breath. In one smooth motion, Cindy shrugged out of her jacket and laid it down on the garage floor as a makeshift cushion as she got to her knees. Staggering back a few steps to adjust his footing, Prompto ended up pushed against a car door, head hanging back to rest on the hood.

 _“You humans disgust me,”_ Carbuncle prodded, her voice an octave higher in his mind.  

 _Stop. Watching. Then._ Prompto punctuated every syllable in his thoughts, fist gripping in Cindy’s short hair as her mouth found its mark. A moan escaped his lips and Cindy hummed teasingly, the vibrations only heightening the sensation.

To Prompto’s horror, when he lifted his head he could see the image of Carbuncle moving on his arm in an irritated fashion, the barcode beside the tattoo pulsating with his ragged breaths. “What the fuck are you doing?” He whispered weakly, praying she wasn’t going to do anything drastic.

“What’s that, sugar?” Cindy mumbled with a laugh. “Ya tappin’ out already?”

“N-no, of course not,” Prompto assured her, still pressed firmly against the hot rod. Cindy glanced up at him from beneath her golden lashes as she reached behind her to untie the bikini she always wore. Prompto’s eyes scanned her sun-kissed body with appreciation, brushing her hair back behind her ear as he did so. When she turned her head to kiss the inside of his wrist, she spied Carbuncle, the tattoo’s gaze seemingly fixed on her.

“Is that new?” She murmured. One of her hands reached in-between his legs to continue working while her mouth was otherwise occupied.

“Uh—huh—” Prompto ground his teeth together, praying to whatever gods that might listen, Carbuncle included, that he at least be able to come before his new companion brought this hook up to a sudden stop.

_“Are you going to tell her about your divine calling, or shall I?”_

_Can’t it wait? I swear I’ll do whatever you say, just--_

_“Well, we most assuredly will_ not _be doing this,”_ Angelique huffed in disdain.

“It’s pretty,” she commented. Thankfully, Cindy’s head resumed its place nestled in Prompto’s crotch before she could get a better look. Lifting his arms overhead to hide Carbuncle from sight, Prompto tried to block out the god’s grating words inside his skull and focus on the moment. Once he couldn’t take it anymore, he pulled Cindy to her feet, carefully positioning his arms so that his tattoos wouldn’t show as he slipped her shorts down to the ground. The mechanic kicked them and her tool belt off with abandon before Prompto lifted her off her feet and pivoted, laying Cindy back on the hood of the car. With her legs still wrapped around his waist, Prompto positioned himself and began to rock back and forth smoothly. He took Cindy’s satisfied sigh as a good sign and continued his thrusting, eyes closing with pleasure. For a moment it seemed like Angelique had given up and he would finally be able to finish in peace.

         _“I was not summoned from the heavens to watch this filth,”_ she griped angrily.

 _And I wasn’t yanked into the Astral Plane to be paired with a nagging cock blocker!_ He thought with resentment.

Suddenly, the ring and markings on his right hand began to glow ominously like they had in Angelgard. “No, no, no, not yet,” Prompto begged.

“It’s all right, sugar, go on ahead,” Cindy laughed, mistaking his pleas for something else entirely. In a matter of seconds, multiple things happened. First, there was a loud “bang!” as the power in the garage surged, knocking out the lights. Then, in short succession, the garage door rolled open, letting in the blinding light of day, followed by multiple “pops” and “booms” as various machines short circuited and went haywire, catching fire and generally causing destruction all around them.

“What in tarnation!” Cindy rolled off the hood, gathering her clothes rapidly as curious onlookers started to gather to see what the noise was all about. Prompto yanked up his pants and slunk back behind the vehicle, buckling his belt and giving his face time to change from tomato red back to its usual pale and freckled hue.

“Prompto?” He picked out Ignis’s concerned voice from the murmurs of the crowd and poked his head out.

“Iggy! Over here!” Prompto waved sheepishly. Ignis immediately jogged over, looking around at the damage the garage had sustained.

“My word, what happened? Are you all right?” Prompto opened his mouth to explain just as Cindy came out of hiding. Her clothes were back in place, but she appeared disheveled and more than a little shook up.

“A circuit must’ve blown, I’m gonna have to go track down Paw Paw and get this fixed. Sorry boys, I might be busy for a while now.” Prompto groaned inwardly at the news. _Just my luck_ , he thought. At least Carbuncle was no longer setting off a light show on his body just to prove a point.

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Inquired Ignis, always the helpful one.

“Nah, I can handle things. Y’all come back soon now, ya here?” With that dismissal, she leaned in to plant a kiss on Prompto’s cheek. He didn’t dare ask about the gil she had offered- it didn’t seem right to push his luck any further. Feeling defeated, and with a fresh pair of blue balls, he followed Ignis back to the car. Prompto watched Hammerhead disappear in the rearview wistfully, cursing Angelique in his mind as it grew further and further way.

“Did you get what you _came_ for?” Ignis asked innocently, one hand on the wheel and one arm resting casually on the door.

“No, not even close, fuck you very much.” Prompto’s companion let out a booming laugh, something he hadn’t heard in quite some time. He couldn’t help but smile.

“Just don’t tell Gladio, all right? He’ll never let me live it down,” Prompto pleaded.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” They made quickly for Insomnia, thoughts of home now on their minds.

 

* * *

  

When they arrived, Ignis placed a call to the receptionist in the Citadel to ask after Gladio. “Is High Commander Amicitia in?” Prompto listened to the exchange as they trudged up the steps of the apartment building. “Ah, so he hasn’t been in since yesterday? Odd. Thank you, I will try the Marshal.” Ignis was already dialing once he hung up, opposite hand unlocking the front door to his apartment as Cor answered.

“Cor, it’s Ignis. When was the last time you spoke to Gladio?” The phone fell away from Ignis’s ear as he and Prompto surveyed the scene before them in stunned silence. The entire apartment smelled of smoke, and there was furniture overturned and glass shattered. It was obvious that there had been a struggle of some kind, and a pot laid overturned on the kitchen floor from where it had fallen off the stove. Ignis dropped his cell and ran into the home, searching every room, but came up empty. Prompto had entered the bathroom and found a soiled bandage along with a blood stain in the doorway.

“His weapons are all here, I don’t understand,” Ignis exclaimed. Prompto could hear the fear in his voice and it made his own stomach turn. The chirping from his newly reactivated phone caught his attention. Cor was calling him back.

“Prompto here,” he said as he picked up.

“What’s going on? I haven’t heard from Gladio since we got back from our mission in Gralea,” the Marshal explained. Prompto’s eyes trailed over to Ignis, whose expression was one of tense anticipation.

“Uh, something happened. We’re at his apartment and it’s a mess. Do you know anything about this or where he could be?”

“No, of course not.” Cor cursed in the background as Prompto’s eyes became fixed on the bloodstain by his feet, dread pooling in his stomach. “Wait—he did get a small wound while he was there, a daemon attacked us. He was supposed to get it checked out today if he wasn’t feeling better, but he hadn’t said anything about it.” His words brought to mind how Ignis had been swallowed by the black venom of the Naga and the bad feeling in the pit of Prompto’s gut worsened.

“Does this have something to do with the new daemons they created in Niflheim?” Prompto asked, his voice losing all remaining levity.   

“…how do you know about that?” Cor marveled.

“Don’t worry, we’ll look for Gladio. Let us know if you find out anything else.” Prompto hung up, eyes focusing on Ignis, who looked worse than the day he had lost his vision. “We’ll find him,” he promised, even though he knew he had no business saying so. Ignis appeared dazed, but Prompto wasn’t about to rush him. Noctis’s best friend knew all too well what it felt like to lose the person he loved most. “We should call Iris,” Prompto eventually realized. Not only was she Gladio’s sister, but she might know something about his whereabouts.

“If he was here yesterday, he couldn’t have gotten far, especially with a daemon prowling about.” Prompto was relieved to hear Ignis finally speak up and take action. “I’ll check the office and see if there have been strange reports in the area while you contact Iris,” Ignis offered. All too eager to jump into action, Prompto nodded.

Ignis and Prompto both started dialing as they went to separate ends of the apartment, now rifling through the rooms more carefully in the event they might have missed something important.

Iris picked up immediately. “Oh my gods—Prompto? Is it really you?” The level of excitement in her voice sent a little flutter through him, but he pushed the feeling aside to deal with later.  

“Yep, same old me. Iris, sorry to cut to the chase, but have you heard from your brother?” Prompto asked, trying to make it casual. Iris was too intuitive for her own good.

“No- did something happen? I know he and Aranea broke up, but he’s not the type to run off and wallow without telling someone.” Her words were laced with concern, making Prompto fidget guiltily.  

Maybe it would be better to play it cool. “He and Aranea broke up?” He questioned, trying to sound uninterested. Ignis stopped what he was doing in his bedroom and wandered over to lean in the doorway, straining to listen.

“Yeah, she called to tell me, saying she figured he wouldn’t say anything,” Iris explained. Prompto shifted and pretended not to see Ignis obviously eavesdropping down the hall.

“Did she say why they called it quits?” Prompto asked for Ignis’s benefit, now pointedly looking at the ceiling.

“She didn’t really give me many details. Said something about him not being emotionally available, but that’s Gladdy for you. Kinda sad to see her go, she would have made a kickass big sister,” Iris pined mournfully. Prompto now tried very hard to not think about his last run-in with the mercenary, which involved one too many drinks on her airship and discovering she had a dragon tattoo on her ass. He could almost hear Aranea’s voice in his head saying: “C’mere cutie, I promise to be gentle.”

         _“Are you always like this?”_ Angelique inquired.

Prompto literally jumped, not expecting his celestial companion to interrupt his daydreaming. “Prompto?” Iris’s voice brought him back down to Eos.

“Yeah—I’m here. I don’t really see Aranea as the big sister type, but maybe that’s just me,” he joked. That elicited a laugh from her.

“Mmhm, well, I would hope not, considering.” _Shit, she knows too?_ Prompto thought to himself. _Time to change the subject._

“Anyway, if you see your brother, tell him to stop ignoring my calls so we can kiss and make up.” Ignis retreated back into his bedroom to finish his own phone call, much to Prompto’s relief.

“I’ll definitely tell him. Just between you and me, I think he missed you.” That lifted Prompto’s spirit, and he couldn’t work up the courage to tell Iris then that he had no idea where Gladio was.

“Thanks, Iris.” Prompto flopped down on the couch after the call ended and took a deep breath. Somehow, he felt like this was more difficult than the entire last ten years. Ignis’s voice rose and fell from across the apartment, and he allowed his eyes to slide closed as he half-listened.

Ignis hung up after hitting a dead end at the Insomnian council office. Scrolling through his remaining contacts, he hesitated before making his next phone call, but knew that if it might help find Gladio it was worth his time.

“Iggy, I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon. So, does that mean our muscle head finally confessed his undying love for you? You have my congratulations.”

“Aranea, always a pleasure, but no, I am calling to inform you that Gladiolus has gone missing and we are in need of your assistance,” Ignis replied more calmly than he felt.

“Oh shit—you’re serious. How can I help?” She offered without hesitation.

“If you have any clues as to his location, we would be most grateful. Until then, I need you to alert your network that he is missing. The Marshal is informing the Kingsglaive and Lucian Guard as we speak.” Aranea listened intently before offering a quiet response.

“Ignis, he is the strongest person I know, and we will get him back. I’m sure he’ll show up soon.” _I don’t need you to tell me that._ Ignis was stunned by the maliciousness of his own mind.

“Thank you, Aranea,” was what came out instead. “I will inform you as soon as he is located.” With no leads, Ignis studied the room as if willing Gladio to appear. Feeling somewhat lost, he wandered back into the decimated living space only to find Prompto asleep on the couch. He couldn’t fault him for dozing off. This ordeal was enough to exhaust anyone, himself included. Instead of waking him, he found some paper and a pen from one of the kitchen drawers and jotted down a quick note, affixing it to the coffee table.

I will be at the council office if you need me. – Ignis

He spent another moment studying Prompto’s face. In his sleep it was relaxed, and even with a patch of facial hair, the 30-year-old appeared incredibly young. The freckles across the bridge of his nose had darkened with recent sun, while his hair had lightened. Absently, Ignis reached down to pat his friend’s head, brushing a loose wisp of gold hair out of his eyes. Prompto nuzzled into Ignis’s touch in his sleep, making the older man smile. _I will protect you and Gladio at all costs_ , Ignis thought to himself. With that solemn vow, he left the apartment, taking care to lock the door as quietly as possible, leaving Prompto to his sweet dreams.

 

* * *

 

 _I listened to you belt out the lyrics, off key and enthusiastic. You were very,_ very _drunk by then. You’d been celebrating your 20 th birthday since you woke up that day, starting with a royal breakfast followed by a formal luncheon with members of your father’s council. You had invited me to your family dinner that night, and laughed when I said I had nothing to wear. “You can borrow one of my suits,” you told me, and I did. “It looks better on you, go ahead and keep it.” I still get compliments when I wear it. _

_I didn’t know which fork to use for the salad, but you pointedly looked at me and grabbed the correct one in front of you. I followed your lead. I always followed your lead. After dinner had concluded, we made our bows to King Regis and promised to retire early because you had a meeting the following morning to review a political report. As soon as we left the dining hall, you had grabbed my arm tightly. “Let’s go out,” you urged, a playful look reflected in your eyes._

_“But you just said—” Three bars and a karaoke room later, there we were, dizzily singing along to everything we knew and didn’t know, empty beer bottles scattered across the table, looking like a long forgotten city in the neon flashes of light reflected off the prompter screen. I tried not to look at the clock; we both knew it was late—or early, depending on how you wanted to think of it. Neither of us wanted our time together to end. As you stumbled on the last verse, your head flopped onto my shoulder. You were laughing like an idiot, reeking of booze, but more carefree than I had ever seen you._

_I didn’t realize what was happening for a full ten seconds. The fact that your lips were on mine was never something I thought would occur. I had resolved myself to loving you silently, as your friend, for as long as I could. That kiss shattered my resolve. I wasn’t as drunk as you were, because I couldn’t afford to be. Gladio would have kicked my ass if something had gone wrong (especially when you insisted on not telling him we were going out). I knew I shouldn’t have returned your affections. You were drunk, you didn’t mean any of this, but you said my name then, firmly. All my will to be the “good friend” melted away, and I was selfish._

_We forgot about the words on the screen. Music played in the background, a steady bass rhythm in time with our racing hearts. There was no time. There were no responsibilities. There was just_ us. _Whenever I was with you, I was bold and courageous. You made me feel wanted, perfect, in spite of my awkward nerdiness. I liked to think that you needed me too, even though I knew otherwise._

_I’m not sure when we fell asleep, except that we woke up to a knocking on the karaoke room door along with a muffled voice saying: “Sir, your time is up.” We both cursed and moaned as we untangled ourselves from where we laid curled together on the floor, heads pounding. It was almost dawn. You were going to be late. We said our hurried goodbyes, promising to talk later. My stomach was full of butterflies—or maybe it was just from the hangover, but I threw up as soon as I walked out onto the street. I was going to be late for my Crownsguard training session. Gladio was not going to be pleased when he realized the state I was in and why._

_Did you remember what had happened? Had I dreamed it? Were you angry? You were so nonchalant when you woke up in spite of last night’s events. Did that mean it wasn’t a big deal? Should I be worried?_

_The rest of the day was a blur. My mind wandered back to you again and again, no matter how hard I tried to distract myself. Gladio yelled at me constantly during our session, which didn’t help my headache. I couldn’t hit a single bullseye through all of my target practice. It was apparent that my mind was elsewhere. So much so that he actually ended training early and told me to go home and sleep it off. “Whatever ‘it’ is,” he had added._

_What he didn’t know is that I couldn’t sleep. I had been checking my phone every spare moment, hoping to hear something from you—anything. Instead I got radio static. In my heart of hearts I feared I had lost you forever, that I would forever curse myself for taking a chance on one moment of bliss instead of protecting our years of friendship. As I laid in bed, praying for some relief, my phone buzzed. I immediately rolled over and grabbed it, checking the text message._

_It was you, thank the Six._

Sry, passed out as soon as i got home and just woke up haha.

how r u feeling?

_I stared at the screen for several minutes, trying to figure out how to respond. Should I be casual? Did I ask if he remembered anything, or pretend like nothing had happened? I typed and retyped my response twenty times over._

          Awful. Gladdy kicked my a$$

did you like it?? >:D

_Sometimes I felt like you enjoyed making me squirm. Now I know you definitely did it on purpose, but at the time it made me sick with anxiety._

-__- No, it was terrible. He ended it early.

ouch, that sucks. been there

_Okay, so at least you were talking to me. We were having a normal conversation. So what now? As I was contemplating my next move, you made one of your own._

i had fun last night :) thx for an awesome bday

 _I stared at it for too long. I read it in your voice, and it sent a curl of electricity in-between my thighs. This was absolutely mortifying, I thought while burying my head into a pillow. I was fantasizing about my best friend, the crown prince of Insomnia. What was wrong with me?_ C’mon Prompto, you have to respond or he’s going to think something’s up. _Mustering up every ounce of courage I had left, I reached for my phone._

                  You’re welcome, Noct. Good night.

_Safe and simple- right? I watched for his response, still doubting myself. Eventually it came, three small dots flashing across the screen, causing my heart to stop briefly._

gn P. c u tomorrow

_I don’t think I got even an hour of sleep that night. The next morning we were meeting for breakfast like we always did before you went to your tutor and I went to my part time job. I stood outside the café for five minutes, debating whether I should text you and say that I was sick and couldn’t make it. Just as I was about to do just that, I saw the Regalia pull up to the curb. Cursing my indecisiveness, I put on what I hoped was a happy expression as you stepped out. When I saw you, it was like something had changed. Every small detail stood out- the color of your tie, how your hair framed your face, the flutter inside me when you smiled and waved upon seeing me. All the things I used to take for granted now stood at the forefront of my mind as you opened the door and motioned me inside._

_“Hey there.” Gods help me, I wasn’t going to make it through this encounter in one piece._

_“Heya Noct.”_ Act cool, be normal. _I couldn’t think of anything else to say so we ordered our food and coffee in silence, retreating to a booth in the corner._

_“Everything all right?” You knew me too well. Most of the time I couldn’t shut up, so why could I think of nothing to say now? I stared down at the cinnamon roll in front of me, realizing belatedly that I had no appetite._

_“I think I’m going to be sick.” I didn’t wait for him to speak, I just got up and went straight to the bathroom tucked in the back of the restaurant. Thankfully, there was no one else inside. Choosing the middle stall, I pushed the door open and locked it behind me, sitting down to think. I had to say something, otherwise I could never move on. Better to face him and get it over with rather than drag it out. As I was planning my strategy I heard the bathroom door creak._

_“Prompto?” I placed my head in my hands and tried not to panic. “Are you all right?” I saw the tips of his leather shoes from underneath the stall door._ Fuck, what do I do? Say something! _“Is this about my birthday?” He sighed. The question caused me to turn into a statue. He spoke reassuringly, as if coaxing a wounded animal out of hiding. “…I don’t regret it, if that’s what you were wondering. I just wasn’t sure if you actually remembered, or if you even wanted me to mention it.” Hand shaking, I reached to unlock the door, getting to my feet to pull it open. Shyly, I peeked around the frame, meeting Noctis’s eyes._

_“You’re the prince. Is someone going to come kill me in my sleep now?” He laughed at that._

**_“_** _Not without my permission, they’re not.” Noctis was smiling, his posture relaxed. How could he look so comfortable when I felt like my brain was about to explode? He took a step forward and I almost tripped as I backed into the stall door. I watched as if in slow motion as he tilted his head and leaned in, lips brushing mine. Except this time it was daylight and we were both sober, if not a little sleep deprived. My nerves were on edge as I met the kiss awkwardly, blue eyes wide in wonder. “We good?” He questioned as he placed his hands in his pockets and stepped away._

_“Y-yeah, perfect, great.”_

_“Great, so I’ll see you after work?” He was treating me like a wild beast, looking at me as if I might bolt any second. I think I nodded. I might have grunted. It’s hard to remember. At some point, Noctis left, and I went out after him, heading for the subway so I could get to work by 9:00 while he got back into the Regalia. Time seemed to crawl, and I kept glancing at my watch every five minutes. Usually I enjoyed my job, but with every new request I was given I felt my patience wearing thinner. Everything revolved around when I could see him again, like I was some lovesick school girl. I had hated myself for it, and at the same time wanted to savor the feeling. The knowledge that someone like Noct could be interested in someone like me. It was almost too good to be true._

_I saw him that night, and the night after, and the night after that. Looking back, that summer was the best one of my life. Of course, we had to be discreet, but being best friends it wasn’t hard to figure out ways to come up with plausible reasons to spend all our free time together. Gladio actually commented on how my aim improved, and how I was more confident in training. “We might make a Crownsguard out of you yet,” he had declared. Ignis had pulled me aside to ask if I had anything to do with Noctis keeping his apartment cleaner, and thanked me even when I insisted I didn’t. For a couple months, everything was perfect- until it wasn’t._

_It was a Saturday, and Noct was supposed to come over after a meeting with his father and the council. He was running a little late, but that was typical. I’d managed to make us a modest lunch (Ignis may or may not have given me some pointers), and was now playing video games in the living room, waiting for him to arrive. It wasn’t until I had been waiting for over an hour that I started to worry. I checked my phone to find no messages. The day went on, and the sun went down. I finally worked up the nerve to shoot him a text._

Hey man, everything okay?

_To my surprise, he had responded right away._

sry, not going to make it tonight

It’s cool, just making sure you’re not dead lol

_He didn’t say anything after that, which is when I knew something was up. Did I go see him, or did I wait? I didn’t want to pry, but I was his best friend after all. He knew he could talk to me, no matter what. I scrolled through our most recent messages, looking for a sign, maybe something I said to tick him off, or a hint of some trouble in the waters, but I found nothing. I eventually decided to leave it alone. He would tell me when he was ready, and I would be waiting to support him._

_I must have fallen asleep, because I woke to a sudden knocking on my door, followed by a key turning in the lock. Only one other person had the key to my apartment. I remember bolting upright and running a hand through my hair, fully expecting it to be a mess. When Noctis walked in there was a heaviness about him. I noticed his eyes were rimmed with red, like he hadn’t slept all night._

_“I’m sorry,” he said, causing my heart to drop in my chest. I didn’t like the finality of his tone._

_“For?” I was hopeful, even then. I had always believed in him, even in the worst of moments._

_“I wanted to call you yesterday, but I couldn’t.” I waited for him to go on, still groggy from sleep. “We can’t… see each other any more. I mean, we can still be friends, but we can’t…” He spread his hands helplessly, giving me more time to process what he was saying._

_“Oh. Okay, that’s cool.” I tried to come off as chill when I was anything but._

_“It’s not you,” he assured me._

_“It’s me?” I finished for him, attempting a joke that fell flat in my ears._

_“Yes, it’s me.” Noctis became defensive then, almost angry. I couldn’t bring myself to look at him, my chest tightening. He sighed heavily, voice raising in irritation. “I’m going to marry Luna.” I glanced up then, stunned. Noctis stared at me levelly, swallowing hard. “My father told me yesterday. It’s part of a peace treaty with Niflheim. It’s supposed to finally end this stupid war. Prompto, I’m sorry, I have no choice.” There were so many things I wish I could have said then. Looking back, it’s still one of my biggest regrets that I didn’t tell you how I really felt. Instead, I chose the high road, the one that Luna asked me to take years ago—to support you, to be there for you. I’m not sure what my exact words were. It doesn’t really matter now. It was something along the lines of: “I’m your best friend, and I’ll always be here if you need me. I understand, and I’m sorry too.”_

_What I wanted to say was: “I love you, please don’t do this.” But that wasn’t meant to be my role in your life. When we finally left Insomnia and hit the road a few weeks later, I put aside all personal feelings for you. I still wanted to be someone you needed by your side, even if it meant hurting myself to do it. So I put my mask back on, and I stood by you through your father’s death, the fall of the Crown City, Luna’s demise, and Ignis’s blindness. I waited for you, for ten years, only to lose you again, and now I had vowed to save Eos from this new threat._

_You asked a lot of me. In my dream, you turned to face me, voice thundering like Ramuh himself._

_“Prompto,” you said, eyes red with the gods’ fire. “Wake up.”_

 

* * *

 

_“Wake up, Prompto Argentum!”_

“Angelique…?” I croaked, eyelids fluttering. When I opened my eyes I was surprised to see—well, _me_ , laying on the couch, fast asleep. “What the--?” It felt like I was suspended over my own body, and it was difficult to move, or even turn my head. My vision was warped, as if I had been shoved under water and forced to look through goggles. I noticed out of the corner of my eye, a dark, formless shape with no face inching closer, moving just fast enough to send chills down my spine.

         _“Prompto!”_

Angelique was across the room in the human form that I was familiar with, but her body was glowing like when we were in the Astral Plane. “What’s happening?” My voice had a strange tone to it, almost like I was shouting through a metal pipe.

       “ _There’s no time to explain, but you need to fight. These daemons are using their access to the crystal’s energy to attack us.”_   

The shadows that had previously been in the corner were now looming over me, attempting to swallow my dozing form as I watched helpless from above. Letting out a strange cry, Angelique’s body shattered into shards of light and shot towards me faster than I could blink. The rays formed crimson halos around my arms and legs, filling my body with an overwhelming heat. Reacting out of instinct I shot my hand forward with a yell, sending an explosion of energy at my nameless assailant. The daemon writhed, releasing an inhuman shriek before it vanished with a puff of black smoke. Almost instantly, I gasped, suddenly returning to my body as I sat up.

“What the hell was that?” I demanded, feeling all over myself to make sure I wasn’t still dreaming.

 _“I did not fathom they would grow this powerful so quickly,”_ Angelique commented darkly. _“Even as we speak, their numbers grow.”_

“Where was that? The Astral Plane?” I looked around the room, half expecting another daemon to appear out of thin air.

       “ _Not exactly, it is more of an in-between space where the Astral Plane and the world as you know it meet.”_

“Like—a spirit world?” How much more complicated was this task going to get?

 _“For lack of better words, yes. Your unique powers combined with my own will allow you to travel through it with practice,”_ she explained with confidence.

“I’m getting too old for this shit,” I complained loudly. Turning, I saw that Ignis had scrawled a note for me. “Can you tell me how to find Gladio?” I suddenly asked. If I had a goddess on my side, I might as well use it to my advantage.

       “ _I don’t have a direct connection with him as I have with you. However, based on the daemon energy that is being drawn to this place, it is safe to assume he may have had a similar run in.”_ My eyes narrowed as I listened.

“So, find the daemons and we find Gladio? Got it. Angelique, I’m going to need you to start teaching me how to use this ring properly.”

 _“I was waiting for you to focus your mind. Does this mean you are ready to honor your divine calling?”_ Her condescending undertone made me wince. All right, so I probably deserved the reprimand, but damn, this goddess had more sass than Aranea.

“I’m ready, Carbuncle. Teach me your ways.” 

_Day 81 of Light -_

The empty train was speeding through Gralea, the sun high in the sky, beating down on the barren wasteland that was now Niflheim. Dotted across the landscape, other than the occasional greenery, were the daemons that now plagued all of Eos. Somehow the return of power had been linked to their ability to draw on the Crystal, and it seemed like the Empire had been busier than people realized during the Long Night. Daemons were pouring out of former bases and research facilities, terrorizing outposts and slowing restoration efforts. With Carbuncle’s help, Prompto had been able to slow their progress considerably, but it was time to go on the offensive. All signs pointed to Zegnautus Keep as the source of the daemon scourge, but the place was now crawling with terrible beasts, and even the Lucian Guard hadn’t dared to attempt another mission to investigate since Gladio went missing.

The month had been an excruciatingly frustrating cycle of following reports of daemon sightings only to realize Gladio wasn’t among them, then returning to the drawing board only to repeat the process all over again. Ignis had become a reclusive mad man, researching for hours on end and making countless calls per day to anyone who he thought might be able to help in the search. Unfortunately, every answer was the same. No one knew where Gladiolus Amicitia had disappeared to, and many presumed him dead—but not Prompto and Ignis, which was exactly why he was on his way to the last place on Eos he ever wanted to return to. It was time to bring Gladio home for good.

There was the briefest flash of light over the train, and Prompto alighted gracefully on top of it out of thin air, the breeze blowing his blonde hair back around the mechanized goggles he wore to help him see targets at greater distances, functioning similar to the monocles he had created. He wore a dark buff around his neck, which he now pulled up over his freckled nose to block the wind and dirt. The print on the black fabric was of a monster’s mouth, fangs bared menacingly. Prompto walked the length of the metal car, activating his astral weapons as he went—the Right Arm, which was his machine gun and could warp into other heavy artillery, and his Left Arm, which was a long barreled pistol used for shorter distances and elemental attacks. The leather jacket he wore had no sleeve on the right side to allow space for the Right Arm and a shorter cape that draped over his left side. The cape had been created with magical alloy and functioned like a shield from bullets and other weaponry. It shimmered with a silver hue as the sun hit it now, and as a gust lifted it, one could see multiple clips and magazines affixed to his back.

Humming to himself, Prompto pulled one earbud out and turned his music down with the flick of his wrist before tapping a button on his goggles that turned the heat seeking sensors on. “All right, Angel, talk to me. What do I got?” Prompto asked as he survey the landscape. The tattoo on his exposed forearm glowed in response.

_“Five daemons on the right of the train in a group traveling in a pack heading towards us, and one giant on your left past the rock face up ahead. Otherwise the path looks clear.”_

“Piece of cake, then,” Prompto grinned as he finished magically loading his firearms.

_“Be careful, Prompto, I don’t like the feel of it. Keep your eyes on the In-Between.”_

“You got it, Ange, let’s do this.” The gunslinger raised his Right Arm, flexing to load the bullets in their chamber. Another slight movement of his finger increased the volume of his music as the daemons came into sight, red blobs outlined in yellow reflected in his lens. “Hey there, opening,” he smirked, letting his hand release in conjunction with a volley of charged metal. He used the ring to guide them, focusing his mind on the targets. Each projectile found their mark, causing the daemons to stumble and fall over each other before they reached the railway. For good measure he threw some missiles at them. They exploded with a whistling bang, causing their energy to disappear entirely from his scanner.

“See, you’ve got nothing to worry about,” Prompto assured his companion as he now turned to his left, readying his handgun for the next challenge. He waited until the iron giant was in his crosshairs before firing an initial strike, engulfing the creature in flames. This only enraged the monster, sending it barreling towards the train faster than something its size should be able to move. “Whoops,” the blonde laughed as he fired a few more rapid shots, aiming for its head.

         _“Quickly, Prompto,”_ Carbuncle said with urgency.

“I got it,” Prompto insisted, emptying the rest of his rounds on the attacker. To his dismay, the giant didn’t slow. He switched to the Right Arm, unleashing a wave of bullets, but it was too late. The daemon swung the giant sword in its hands and crushed the train car in one fell swoop. Prompto was rocketed into the air and had to act fast. Reaching a hand out, he grabbed the curtain of light that was a part of the In-Between and yanked as hard as he could, teleporting further up the railroad to another car. He reappeared in a diving roll and came up shooting, the giant already on his trail.

With a roar, the beast made another swing for him and Prompto clenched his fist, Carbuncle’s ring shining bright as he punched it into the air overhead. Metal met an invisible force with a “bang!”, setting off a chain of explosions around the iron giant and train itself. The force of the blow knocked the speeding vehicle of its rails, creating a horrible screech as metal folded in on itself. A giant dust cloud shot across the landscape from the impact. When everything finally settled, a body could be seen lying on the ground beside the wreckage, along with a fox-like creature circling anxiously around it. Hacking, Prompto rolled to one side and slowly pushed himself up, blood dripping down his exposed arm from where a metal projectile had caused a deep scratch.

“See? I told you I got it,” Prompto coughed, spitting dirt out of his mouth. The fox-creature hissed, tail twitching. He squatted down, holding his hand out feebly as a peace offering. “All right, I’m sorry, I should have been more careful, you were right.” Carbuncle rubbed her head into his hand tentatively, which made him smile. Affectionately scratching behind her ears, Prompto straightened once more, looking into the distance where he could see Zegnautus Keep. “Well, I guess we go on foot from here.” In the blink of an eye, Carbuncle’s form returned to its place on Prompto’s arm. Together, they traveled quickly through the In-Between to reach the entrance of Gralea’s stronghold.

 _“It would be best to avoid detection,”_ Carbuncle suggested, her voice a strong anchor inside Prompto’s mind.

He nodded, effortlessly slipping in the space between worlds and dancing around daemons that could no longer see them, taking care not to let his astral projection touch them as he passed in case they thought to follow him to the other side. Focusing long enough to maintain normal movement within the In-Between was draining, so he hurried to travel deeper into the fortress. In areas where daemons were sparse, he returned to the physical world and snuck through the halls. He distinctly remembered where the Crystal had been kept. After all, it was because of the Crystal that Noctis had disappeared and the Long Night had fallen. As he walked across the elevated metal platform to the center of Zegnautus Keep, Prompto slowed, a rush of scenes replaying in his head. It became more overwhelming when he turned the corner and saw what he least expected—there, in the center of the Empire’s stronghold, was the Crystal, chained and pulsing like it had been over ten years ago.

“Wait—I thought the Crystal stayed in Insomnia when Ardyn was defeated. What is it doing here?” Prompto asked, expecting an answer from Carbuncle. Instead, he felt a ringing in his ears like alarm bells going off. The gunman’s hands and feet were moving before he even knew what the threat was. Something heavy struck him in his chest, knocking his Right Arm askew as bullets sprayed into the metal dome above, sparks flying. A backwards roll had him on his feet, then almost falling over once more as a thick sword flashed in front of his face and he arched to avoid a killing blow. Strands of blonde hair floated to the ground from the aggressive slash, which was better than the alternative: Prompto’s head rolling on the ground.

Stepping back with both arms raised, Prompto prepared to pull both triggers on whatever daemon had almost taken off his head, but hesitated when he saw the person with his own eyes. “Gladio!” Prompto cried, but who was before him wasn’t the same as his long time friend. Sure, it had his muscled physique, clothes, and gigantic sword, but the man’s glowing yellow eyes were rimmed with dripping black ooze, the daemon miasma. Splattered across his body in a spiderweb pattern was the same substance, a reminder that the man was no longer himself. Whatever had taken him had assigned him to guard the Crystal, and honestly, it was the best move they could have made. Who better than the King’s Shield to defend the world’s most powerful treasure? Now Prompto was placed in a precarious situation- how would he free his friend and live to tell the tale?

He considered this as he avoided a fresh onslaught from Gladio, barely dodging his powerful strikes with enough time to defend the next one. “C’mon big guy, you don’t want to do this,” Prompto protested, palms showing in a friendly gesture. Gladio twirled his sword around his head, preparing another attack. “Angel, a little help here!” The blonde man yelped while retreating, fingers twitching to ready his weapons even though he knew he’d never fire them.

 _“You need to subdue him before we can remove the miasma from his soul,”_ she explained.

“Subdue? _Subdue_?! Ange, this is Gladio we’re talking about.” As if proving his point, Gladio slammed his sword down, forcing Prompto to make a diving roll to the side to escape another possible maiming. Running through the available options in his head, Prompto used his Left Arm to toss an ice spell at Gladio’s feet, freezing the ground around them. The temperature dropped, and the gunslinger’s ragged breath appeared as a white cloud in front of his mouth as he circled away cautiously.

“C’mon, I know you want some of this,” Prompto taunted, finger resting on his pistol’s trigger. Daemon-Gladio gripped his blade’s hilt with two hands and made a dash at the smaller man. In one smooth motion, Prompto ducked down, sliding on the ice in-between Gladio’s legs. With a twist of his torso, he caught the commander by the ankle, tripping him. Unfortunately, Prompto didn’t consider the fact that Gladio might fall on top of him, effectively pinning him against the grated metal beneath their feet. Weapons tossed aside, Gladio wrapped one muscled arm around Prompto’s neck in a choke hold. Panicking, he clawed at Gladio’s forearm, gasping for air. When the soldier stood, Prompto’s feet left the floor and he felt his vision swim, oxygen draining fast with the constant contraction of his friend’s biceps. 

 _“An—gel—ique-”_  Prompto thought desperately as darkness closed in. Before the 30-year-old could be suffocated, his own forearm’s tattoos glowed with Carbuncle’s ruby light, encircling them all. It filled the entire keep, intertwining with the crystal’s glow. Suddenly, Gladio was roaring, and then- it was eerily silent. The High Commander’s arm loosened, then went completely slack, allowing Prompto to slide to his knees as Gladio fell to the ground unconscious behind him. Prompto coughed violently, rubbing his throat to dispel the irritation inflicted by his friend’s grip.

“S-shit. Thanks,” Prompto managed to say before coughing again. He turned to look at Gladio, his face now the one he recognized. “Oh, thank the Six—thank _you_ , Ang—I mean Carbuncle, you saved him.” He was so happy he could cry. Finally, he would be able to call Ignis with good news so he could stop obsessing over Gladio’s disappearance. “Now, how am I going to get him home? He only weighs 2,000 pounds,” Prompto joked.

“Come now, you didn’t think it would be that easy, did you?”

The world moved in slow motion as Prompto’s eyes panned over to the newcomer who leaned casually against the metal railing that lined the walkway to the Crystal. He looked much younger, with an undercut instead of an unruly mane of hair, but it was a familiar blood-red hue, and the amber orbs in his skull reflected golden flecks that shone like an animal’s in the night when headlights hit them just right. They were the eyes of a predator. Gone was his eccentric layered outfit, replaced now with a tailored silver vest and black undershirt, sleeves rolled to the elbow crease stylishly. His slacks were fitted as well, showing off a younger, healthier body than what Prompto remembered, but it was him.

“You’re dead,” Prompto said, but it was a whisper, the sentiment perishing even as it left his lips. There was never a doubt in his mind—it was none other than Ardyn Izunia.

The man watched him with obvious amusement, a sly grin now blossoming on his clean shaven face.

“Am I? Isn’t that an interesting notion, Prompto Argentum. You of all people should know there are many ways to leave a legacy. After all, we’re one and the same now.” Prompto stared at the redhead blankly as he strolled casually towards him, hands in his pockets. The gunman doubted he would be able to run now even if he had the courage to try. _One and the same? Does he mean he’s a clone?_ It would make sense that the greatest villain Eos had ever known would have a plan B. _How did I not see this coming?_ Prompto cursed himself for not realizing it sooner.

Abruptly, Ardyn grabbed Prompto’s chin and jerked his head up violently, their eyes locking. “If only Specs were here, it would be a grand old reunion. Well, minus one, of course.” A hot rage swelled inside Prompto and he yelled something intelligible as he made a lunge for the man who had been responsible for all of his suffering. Ardyn easily sidestepped, hand grasping the finger with Carbuncle’s ring before twisting swiftly. Prompto released a high pitched scream at the snap that resulted, legs buckling beneath him from pain. Ardyn tossed the newly acquired jewelry in the air before catching it nonchalantly, whistling as he did so. “I don’t think you’ll be needing this anymore, do you?” Prompto lifted his head slowly, a growl rumbling in his chest as he clutched his broken finger.

“You—fucking—bastard—”  

“Tsk, tsk,” Ardyn chided, wagging a finger at him. “There’s no need for name calling. Don’t worry, it will all be over soon. Then you can join your friends in the Astral Plane for all of eternity.” Ardyn’s smile twisted Prompto’s stomach into knots.

 _I will not die here,_ Prompto vowed. _Carbuncle—Noctis—anyone—please, help us._ One of Ardyn’s eyes twitched, briefly looking away from Prompto to something over his shoulder that caught his attention. Unable to resist the urge, Prompto followed Ardyn’s gaze to find the Crystal was shining brightly. When he turned his eyes forward again he found that Carbuncle’s ring was doing the same. In a fit of momentary rage, Ardyn’s fist closed around the band tightly, shattering it into pieces, but the ruby that once resided in the setting only glowed brighter in his hand. 

Prompto could feel an intense energy pulsing through the room, and Carbuncle suddenly appeared as Angelique in her white dress, eyes red with astral power. She stood between him and Ardyn as she stretched her hand behind her to the Crystal in the middle of the room, drawing from its strength. Her voice thundered across the In-Between into both worlds, reverberating in the steel prison in which they found themselves, vibrating within Prompto’s chest.

“Ardyn Lucis Caelum, the Accursed king, you have no place here.”

“Oh Carbuncle, darling, running the Six’s errands again, are you? How embarrassing,” Ardyn laughed, but even as he spoke, he took a step backwards. “Have it your way for now.” With a flourishing bow, Ardyn was gone quicker than he came. Prompto wasn’t sure how, or why, but he could care less. They were alive, and could fight another day.

As soon as Ardyn departed, Angelique ran to Prompto’s side, kneeling before him. “You are hurt,” she said, concerned.

“I’ll be all right,” Prompto assured her, trying to hide his pain. Reaching carefully, she took his hand in hers and touched her forehead to the mangled digit. The heat from her light washed over his body and he could feel the bones knitting back together with a ‘pop!’ Once she pulled away, he was able to open and close his fist, good as new. “Thank you,” he sighed. They were quiet then, basking in the knowledge that some form of Ardyn still existed in Eos.

“Without the ring, I cannot communicate with you through thought or lend you my powers,” Angelique explained, her tone apologetic. “However, I can create a safe path for your friends to retrieve you,” she offered. Prompto realized then he had started crying. Face wet from an outpouring of sudden emotion, he managed a quick nod.

“That would be great, Angel, thanks.” She went on ahead, leaving him to his thoughts. Prompto scooted over to Gladio then, sitting cross-legged beside his head to make sure he was still breathing. When he was positive that he was only knocked out, he fumbled to grab the phone in his jacket pocket before dialing Ignis. True to form, he picked up on the first ring.

“Prompto, are you all right?” The gunslinger hated how his voice had become flat and filled with exhaustion.

“I’m—fine. Great, actually.” No point in raising an alarm yet. There would be time to explain more later. “I found him. I got Gladio back.” Prompto strained to listen for some reaction, then checked to make sure the call hadn’t dropped when Ignis remained speechless. “…Iggy?”

“Thank the gods.” There was only one nearly undetectable quiver, the slightest unsteadiness in breath. Prompto’s throat tightened with renewed emotion. “Thank you. Thank you.” Ignis whispered. The usually poised man was at a loss for proper words, something that Prompto had never personally witnessed.

“There’s a lot that happened, and uh, I need to the Lucian Guard to come get us, but we’re safe.”

“I’m on my way,” Ignis answered, the phone cutting off. Prompto smiled at that, holding tightly to his phone as he plopped down beside his sleeping friend.

“Together at last,” Prompto breathed. It was in that moment he realized that no matter how bad things got, he would rather face it with Ignis and Gladio by his side than live a life of peace alone. Resting his head on Gladio’s chest so he could monitor its rise and fall, he settled down to wait for his rescuers to arrive, basking in the rare moment of respite before having to return to reality’s harsh truth: Ardyn was still out there, and he had to be stopped.

When Ignis and the Lucian Guard finally arrived, they were led in by Angelique. Prompto heard their footsteps before he saw them, and hurried to stand and greet the group. When Ignis saw Prompto for himself, his face immediately relaxed, but then he caught sight of Gladio and his brow furrowed to see him laid out on the ground. “He’s just sleeping,” Prompto said quickly, but Ignis pushed past him anyway to kneel at Gladio’s side. He walked up behind Ignis them, watching his face anxiously. Even though he knew it might be uncouth, he discreetly pulled up the goggles that hung around his neck and snapped a few pictures. Ignis would thank him (someday).

“What happened?” Ignis questioned, one hand running gently over Gladio’s face and up to his hair line.

“He was a daemon. A miasma had infected him, and he was guarding the Crystal,” Prompto explained darkly. Ignis looked at the Crystal then as if realizing for the first time it was even in the room. “And…” Prompto lowered his voice so as not to alert the Lucian Guard. “…Ignis, there’s a clone of Ardyn. A very, very good one.” Ignis’s eyes widened in genuine surprise before returning to Gladio’s face.

“Let us get him home and call a council meeting immediately. It seems like we have a lot to discuss.” With the help of the Lucian Guard they were able to carry Gladio out of Zegnautus Keep to where their airship was waiting. Prompto climbed aboard and sat on one side of Gladio, Ignis on the other, the two of them working to keep him propped up in his seat for the duration of the flight. Although the moment was tense, there was a calm that pervaded now that he had been found. Once he had recovered, Prompto was confident that nothing could stand in their way, not even an Ardyn look-alike.

 

_Day 83 of Light -_

Ignis walked into the hospital room and systemically completed his own series of checks. The lights were on low, curtains drawn, and a vase of fresh cut flowers on the bedside table. He went to them now, picking them up so he could add fresh water. In the corner, Prompto Argentum was sprawled sideways in an arm chair, mouth slightly open as he dozed. Curled atop his chest was a peculiar white animal with long ears and a ruby affixed between its eyes, also sleeping soundly. Their bodies expanded and contracted in unison. Even without the ring that had once bound them, the goddess and her ward had developed a strong partnership that could not be broken.

Yesterday, while in human form, Angelique had hovered over Prompto, caring for his every need. Ignis noted how he addressed her casually, using various nick names as if he had forgotten her celestial origin. When he seemed to realize his mistake, he would use her proper name, Carbuncle, but she didn’t seem to mind and never sought to correct him. It reminded Ignis of Prompto’s relationship with Noctis. Truly, it wasn’t until the king’s death that his best friend seemed to realize he had been in the presence of royalty the entire time. Ignis admired Prompto’s carefree dealings with others, and perhaps it had something to do with his own lineage that he didn’t care where someone had come from—his love for them would remain the same.

Taking care not to wake him, Ignis retrieved a set of sheets from a nearby drawer to pull around the blonde haired man and his guardian before approaching the bed in the room. Gladio slept as well, although this was more problematic. He hadn’t woken from his slumber since they had returned from Gralea, even with the help of modern medicine and magic. So now, they waited, and Ignis was struck by the level of impatience he felt. Pulling up a chair, Ignis sat at Gladio’s side, his hands folded in-between his knees as he leaned forward. He spoke softly, his voice a low tenor.

“We met with the council yesterday concerning the new developments. It appears that the daemons are proliferating by infecting new hosts, which is problematic to say the least. The news of Ardyn’s return has them in a panic, understandably so, and the Lucian Guard has been sent to retrieve the Crystal and bring it to Insomnia for safe keeping. I sense dissension in the ranks, however, as some are wont to shift blame and even suggest another alliance with Niflheim’s remnants.” Ignis shook his head then. “Others expressed concerns over Prompto’s newfound powers. Apparently, the knowledge that he is associating with a goddess has them on edge, yet they never spoke a word against King Regis or Noct.” A smile then, ever so slightly curled one lip up at its border. “You know what they have dubbed him? Godslinger. Our Prompto, the Godslinger! Almost rivals the Immortal in impressiveness, does it not?”

Ignis quieted, studying his friend with a pervading depression. “I wish you were here. We need you.” Then, barely a whisper. “I need you.” He closed his eyes, preferring the darkness in that moment.

“…Iggy?” Ignis nearly knocked the chair over from jumping to his feet so fast.

“Gladiolus!” He exclaimed as the Shield surveyed the room drowsily. Prompto began to stir, Ignis’s shout pulling him back to consciousness.

“Hey Iggy, what happened?” Gladio yawned, stretching as he sat up.

“Gladio!” Prompto struggled to get out of the chair, Carbuncle jumping to the ground as he did so. The two rushed to their friend’s side, arms wrapping around the muscled Crownsguard as he looked between them in confusion.

“Whoa, what’s all of this?” Gladio laughed. “Not that I don’t appreciate the attention, but you’re acting like I almost died or something.” Neither Ignis nor Prompto shot down the joke, making Gladio’s face darken. “And Prompto—what the hell, man? Nice of you to finally show up, we’ve only been looking for you for weeks.” Prompto winced, rubbing his neck awkwardly. Startled, Gladio did a double take of Ignis. “Iggy, your eyes—are they—can you _see_ now? Wait, how long was I out for?”  

“This may require libations,” Ignis exclaimed tiredly. “Shall we extricate you and regroup at the apartment?” He suggested, to which Prompto nodded enthusiastically.

“I’ll make some phone calls—a lot of people are gonna want to know you’re all right,” Prompto said, his face beaming with joy. He darted out of the room, trailed by Carbuncle, leaving Ignis and Gladio to their own devices.

“Wait—was that a fox following him?” Gladio asked incredulously, blinking his eyes in rapid succession. Ignis chuckled, waving his hand dismissively to suggest it would all be explained soon.

“How are you feeling?” Ignis inquired as he returned to his seat.

“Fine, I guess. Sore, like I just ran a marathon, but good otherwise. Ignis, what happened to me?” Gladio demanded. He studied Ignis as he rose to his feet and pushed the call button for a nurse.

“The daemons took you. Prompto found you in Zegnautus Keep and brought you home. …You initially disappeared about a month ago.” Gladio was obviously shocked by this piece of information.

“I… don’t remember it at all.” He felt guilty as he considered the repercussions of what Ignis was saying. For a month they had spent untold time and energy tracking him down when they should have been focusing on restoration efforts. Ignis already looked like he had aged several years with worry. That meant weeks without one of the Lucian Guard’s High Commanders, leaving the burden to Cor and Iris. Gods, Iris—she must have been a wreck, but had to put on a strong face for the soldiers who now looked to her for guidance. Gladio’s ruminating was interrupted when a nurse poked her head into the room.

“Yes, Mr. Scientia?” She inquired before realizing Gladio was upright. “Oh! I’ll get the doctor!”

“I’ll explain more on the way home,” Ignis promised, hoping this might temporarily break Gladio out of his brooding. _Home_ , Gladio mused. How nice that sounded. At least for Ignis’s sake, he would push his guilt aside so they could focus on the task at hand.

 

* * *

 

The three spoke late into the night as they recounted stories of the past several weeks. Ignis and Prompto explained the events that transpired on Angelgard, their visit to the Astral Plane, how Ignis’s eyesight was restored, and Carbuncle had come to join them. They then told of their fights with the daemons, and how they were now using a combination of MT and Crystal technology that Niflheim researchers had developed in the Long Night. Finally, Prompto described his rescue of Gladio, and Ardyn 2.0, in Zegnautus Keep. Gladio soaked it in, amazed at how much he had missed in such a short window of time.

“So, what’s the plan?” Gladio wondered.

“The daemons are still our biggest threat. Tracking down Ardyn again will be difficult, but that should be priority one,” Ignis decided pragmatically. The others nodded their agreement.

“How will we stop the daemons from turning more people though? If they’re fueled by the Crystal, aren’t we fighting a losing battle?” Gladio thought aloud. They considered this critically for a few minutes.

“That might be worthwhile, especially considering your ring was taken. We cannot fight crystalline beings without matching their strength,” Ignis said as he leaned back, a single finger resting on his chin thoughtfully.

“We need more fire power. Maybe I can go back to the Astral Plane with Angelique and ask Noct for advice,” Prompto suggested as Carbuncle butted her head against his hand in support. Ignis and Gladio both raised their eyebrows at the show of familiarity.

“That might be worthwhile, especially considering your ring was taken. We cannot fight crystalline beings without matching their strength,” Ignis said as he leaned back, a single finger resting on his chin thoughtfully.

“That _is_ Carbuncle you’re petting like a cat, right? Is she really okay with you treating her so… casually?” Gladio asked, disapproving. Prompto shrugged, a small flush tinging his cheeks.

“Eh, she doesn’t seem to mind it. We’re pals,” Prompto attempted to explain. The Shield of Lucis let it go, switching the subject. “I still can’t believe you saw him,” Gladio’s sigh was tinged with jealousy. “So, I’ll organize the Lucian Guard and the hunters while Prompto gets the gods on our side. Iggy, you planning on getting the intelligence network in on it?” Gladio was already getting back into battle mode.

“Of course. Already on it,” he assured them.

“Well all right then, sounds like we have plan.” Gladio sat back on the couch, hands going to clasp behind his head. Prompto let out a loudly exaggerated yawn, arms swinging towards the ceiling as he did so.

“Welp, I’m beat from all this princess rescuing, so I’m gonna hit the hay.” Gladio’s eyes narrowed.

“Princess rescuing, huh? If anyone’s a princess, it’s _you_ , short stuff,” Gladio retorted with a huff, muscles flexing in intimidation.

“Excuse me, that’s Godslinger to you,” Prompto laughed as he hopped up. Carbuncle leapt effortlessly onto his shoulders, curling around his neck like a scarf before settling there. Gladio couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

“I can’t believe that nickname is what stuck. You’re going to be even more insufferable than usual,” he groaned. Prompto flashed a pair of finger guns in response and pretended to blow smoke from the end of the barrels, winking playfully.

“Good night, Prompto, and thank you,” Ignis said with a smile.

“I’ll call ya in the morning. Godslinger, out!” He left the apartment, radiating an exuberance that Ignis and Gladio had come to miss. They both chuckled when he shut the door behind him.

“Well, he’s in a much better mood,” the larger of the two commented. Ignis made an affirmative sound before resting in the easy silence. He took a long sip of his whiskey, finishing the drink before gently placing the glass on the coffee table. Gladio snuck a peek at him, a tightness forming in his throat unexpectedly.

Ignis looked at him out of the corner of his eye, asking a question without saying a word. Gladio was sucked in by the green of his irises. He had forgotten how beautiful they were, and the nostalgia of it hit him like a stab in the gut. It was going to be a while before he got used to seeing them again. “I, uh, broke up with Aranea before I went missing,” he finally admitted, seemingly out of nowhere.  

“Oh?” Ignis put no judgement into the response, in spite of being overly invested in the subject matter. “My condolences.” The silence returned, this time more awkward.

“She said that I needed to learn how to deal with my ‘feelings,’ and that as the Shield I had put a wall up for too long.” It was hard for Gladio to say it out loud, but if anyone would understand, it was Ignis. His friend listened attentively, not saying anything just yet. “Anyway, I think she’s right,” he finally admitted.

“As I said previously, we all deal with grief in our own ways. You needn’t be ashamed of it,” Ignis reassured the man firmly. Gladio shook his head stubbornly.

“No, Iggy, that’s not what I’m talking about.” Ignis’s heart skipped a beat, but his words were even and collected.

“Ah, well then, what _are_ you talking about?” Gladio couldn’t meet his eyes, an aggressive panic rising in his chest. It was difficult to breathe, and more challenging than any battle he had been a part of.

“I… you’ve always been there, Ignis. From the beginning, through this entire mess. I wish you knew how much it meant to me. There aren’t really any words for it.” Gladio spread his calloused hands before him in a show of exasperation. “I’ve been an idiot, and I’m not good with words like you are. Hell, even Prompto is more open than I am. I don’t say thank you enough. So, I’m sorry for what I put you guys through, and I hope I can make it up to you.” Ignis waited for him to finish before placing a cool hand on top of Gladio’s and squeezing. Gladio didn’t pull away, head turning with an inquisitive expression.

“There is no need for words, Gladio. I understand the sentiment. I hold you, and Prompto, close to my heart. Regardless of what happens, I will be with you—until the very end, just as we were for Noct.” Ignis’s green eyes pierced through Gladio, steady and passionate. There was something there that Gladio recognized and he swallowed hard. After the span of a few heartbeats, Ignis slowly withdrew his hand, causing Gladio to look away quickly. “Sleep well, my friend.” Once Ignis left the living room, Gladio took a deep, gulping breath, unaware he had been holding it the entire time. He sat up, listening to the sounds of Ignis preparing for bed, frozen with indecision. It wasn’t until Ignis’s bedroom door eventually shut with a ‘click’ that he worked up the nerve to get to his feet.

He stood in front of the door, replaying memories and conversations one by one. Usually he was reactive, almost impulsive, but this was different. There would only be one chance, and he couldn’t afford to mess it up. Summoning all his strength and resolve, Gladio opened Ignis’s door. Ignis sat up in bed, chest bare, and stared at him in blatant confusion. “Gladio, what--?” 

Gladio closed the distance to Ignis in less than three steps and bent down, silencing the man with his own mouth. This elicited an undignified noise from Ignis that Gladio had never heard before, and spurned him on with a newfound confidence. The kiss strengthened and Ignis closed his eyes, arms unknowingly rising to wrap around Gladio’s thick torso. They sat there for some time, caught in the moment, neither one wanting to pull away first. Somehow Gladio ended up bracing his body over him on the bed, their hands wandering to the bodies they knew well, but had never explored.

Finally, Gladio rolled to his back beside his closest companion and stared up at the ceiling while listening to Ignis’s ragged breaths. “That was, ah—unexpected,” Ignis said, but he didn’t sound the least bit angry. Gladio almost couldn’t believe he had actually made the first move, but now that he had, an indescribable happiness filled him. Without speaking, Ignis reached for Gladio’s hand, which he took with uncharacteristic shyness. They laid there, sharing an unspoken understanding. Ignis realized Gladio had been right—there were no words.     

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still in the process of completing the final chapter. I appreciate your support and patience!


	3. Chapter 3

_Day 84 of Light -_

Gladio woke to the smell of coffee brewing, the sunlight falling across his face from between the panels of the cracked blinds. He took his time getting out of bed, enjoying the familiar sounds of Ignis preparing breakfast that he had missed from their time traveling together. When he eventually wandered out to the kitchen, Gladio trained his eyes on Ignis’s back, watching as his shoulder blades slid back and forth beneath his shirt with the movement of his arms.

“Staring is generally frowned upon, but I will allow this one exception,” Ignis exclaimed without turning around. Gladio chuckled, knowing he had been caught, and walked until his bare chest brushed Ignis’s back. Placing a hand on the stove handles to either side of the other man’s hips, he lowered his chin to rest on Ignis’s shoulder, watching as he made eggs in the frying pan.

“Are you having second thoughts now that the sun has risen?” Ignis questioned innocently, but Gladio could spot his uncertainty beneath the friendly tone.

Voice a deep bass in Ignis’s ear, Gladio said: “Yeah, I’m having second thoughts. And third, and fourth, too. I could explain them in detail if you’d like.”

“Ahem. Well. They will have to wait until after breakfast. It would be a shame to burn the eggs,” Ignis pointed out, but Gladio could tell by the way he shifted towards him that he was secretly pleased. For added reassurance, Gladio kissed Ignis’s neck before stepping away, moving to set the table.

While Ignis was scooping the finished omelet onto plates, his phone buzzed and he answered it, wedging it between one ear and shoulder as he washed his hands.

“Iggy! Thank the Six—we gotta get out of Insomnia, _now_!”

“Prompto? What is it? What has happened?” Gladio stopped what he was doing and drew near. Quickly drying his hands, Ignis put the phone on speaker so Gladio could listen.

“The Council has Iris—and they’re coming for us! You have to leave now, they may already be on their way.” Gladio’s face contorted with rage as he listened.

“What do you mean they have my sister? Where’s the Marshal?” Gladio demanded, already moving to get dressed and gather supplies. Ignis began to move with him, grabbing weapons and yanking on his shoes as Prompto continued to speak.

“They decided we’re too dangerous to be left to alone and ordered that Iris bring us in to be held for questioning. Of course, she refused with a few choice words, and that’s when they ordered the guard after us. Cor is still in Gralea getting the Crystal so I doubt he knows what’s going on.” Ignis could hear gunshots in the background.

“Where are you? We’re coming to get you,” Ignis declared as Gladio rejoined him.

“I’m leaving the Citadel now, and Angelique is with me. We’ll meet you on the J Line where it intersects with your district,” Prompto promised before he cut out. Gladio and Ignis transitioned instantly into survival mode. They left the apartment complex without delay, watching for any sign of trouble as they made for the subway system. In the distance they heard sirens drawing near. The two weren’t the lowest profile individuals, especially with Gladio’s sword slung over his shoulder, so they opted for expediency over stealth. When they got on the subway, they stood back to back and alert, watching for the Lucian Guards they knew would eventually become unavoidable.

The doors opened on their subway stop and Prompto was already there, running towards them, Carbuncle’s white form racing one step behind. “C’mon, I got a car for us,” Prompto urged, ignoring anyone else nearby. Heads were turning, faces were recognizing the heroes of Lucis. Ignis and Gladio ran with him as they darted back up the subway stairs and onto the street above where a car was running. As they jumped in, a fleet of cars rounded the corner with red flashing lights. Prompto didn’t wait for them to catch up. Slamming on the gas, he began to careen through Insomnia’s streets, which had become busier with traffic with each passing day since the Dawn. They were heading for the main gate with reckless abandon, and could already see them closing from afar.

“We’re not going to make it,” Prompto grimaced. They all recalculated, trying to think of an alternative route, and came up empty.

“It’s going to be a brawl,” Gladio decided, his sword laid across his lap where he reclined in the back seat.

“Let’s make it quick,” Ignis quipped as they continued to speed toward the great wall ahead of them.

Prompto swerved to the side of the road when they saw a battalion of Kingsglaive waiting for them up ahead. The three men along with Carbuncle jumped out of the car as soon as he parked and made straight for the soldiers. “Halt!” One of them called out.

“Let us pass peacefully,” Ignis ordered, hands already reaching for his daggers.

“Sir Scientia, you know we cannot,” he called back regretfully.

“Can’t, or won’t? It’s useless to try and stop us,” Gladio barked menacingly.

“What he said!” Prompto added, pistols aimed at the weapon the man held in front of him.

“Seize them,” the Kingsglaive captain yelled, sending the other dozen guardsmen into action. Ignis, Gladio, and Prompto reacted in defense, attempting to disarm rather than to kill. The Kingsglaive did the same, primarily using blunt instruments or fists, but this was different than how they usually fought and slowed them considerably. Carbuncle weaved in and out of the throes of battle, causing chaos by tripping the Kingsglaive members and knocking their weapons aside, but even that wasn’t enough to tip the odds in their favor. As Prompto ran out of blanks, he reached to reload and caught a baton to the wrist, dropping his gun. One of the Kingsglaive stepped into close range and grabbed his arm, pulling it behind him forcefully.

“Hey--!” Before he knew it, he was face down on the pavement with handcuffs on.

“Prompto!” Gladio roared, barreling at the Kingsglaive that currently had his friend restrained. Something came swinging through the air and wrapped around Gladio’s feet, causing him to stumble and fall. When he tried to get up, a shock of electricity surged through his body, paralyzing him. A magically activated net of some kind shimmered around the man, effectively neutralizing him as a threat. Ignis now faced about twenty Kingsglaive who narrowed their ranks as they closed in.

“Sir Scientia, please surrender peacefully,” the same captain pleaded. Ignis knew he wouldn’t be able to escape, so he stalled, hoping to buy time to think.

“You are making a grave mistake. His Majesty, King Noctis, would be remiss to see this.”

“With all due respect, sir, King Noctis is dead. We stand by the Council’s decisions to maintain order. Surely, you understand,” the captain tried to reason. While the captain was speaking, Carbuncle made her way forward to sit by Ignis’s feet. Without ceremony, her jewel lit up, and the world as Ignis knew it became blurred. The remaining men surrounding him looked as if they had been frozen, but he could hear Prompto’s voice echoing from somewhere nearby. Instinctively, Ignis fought to reach Gladio and Prompto, but every step was like moving through quick sand. His vision was wavy like when heat radiated off of asphalt on a summer’s day.

“Over here!” Prompto’s voice rang. “Keep moving or you’ll get stuck!” Ignis somehow managed to reach him and bent forward to release his cuffs. It was difficult when every time he looked down he saw a kaleidoscope of fingers and limbs, making it appear as if he had ten separate hands, but he eventually got them off.

When he next blinked, he had somehow ended up outside the main gate with Prompto, Gladio, and Carbuncle surrounding him. “Let’s move, it won’t take them long to realize we’re gone.” Even as Prompto spoke, the gates started to slide open, siren horns wailing overhead.

“I’m going to kill that entire council when this is over,” Gladio glowered as they hurried to escape on foot.

“Drat!” Ignis blurted, making Prompto and Gladio look to him in alarm. “I think I left the stove on,” he mused, not breaking the stride of his run.

“Iggy, I think we’ve got bigger problems to worry about!” Prompto pointed out in exasperation.

Ignoring his own irritation, Ignis tried to remain optimistic, but he knew that unless something drastic happened they would soon be captured. Drastic came in the form of an airship overhead, and at first they feared it was the Imperials, but soon caught sight of the red dragon emblem painted on the side.

“Aranea!” Prompto exclaimed with glee. The airship dove down, hovering just above their heads, the back hatch opening as the mercenary’s voice boomed over an intercom.

“Need a lift, boys?” A retractable ladder dangled down as Kingsglaive burst through the gate behind them, the air filling with their shouts. Without hesitation, the three of them hurried to board and Aranea took to the skies as soon as the hatch had closed. Insomnia grew smaller until it was just a speck of gray below, and the three men collapsed on the ground while heaving sighs of relief, their heads touching in a makeshift triangle as they stared up at the metal ceiling. Eventually their savior came into view as she looked down at them with an amused smirk.

“Rough day, I take it? But at least the gang’s all here. So, how’d you manage to piss off the Council?” She wondered, placing her hands on her hips. The three of them sat up.

“It’s kind of a long story,” Prompto said as he got to his feet, Carbuncle sticking close to his side.

“Lucky for you, pretty boy, we’ve got the time now. Who’s your pet?” Aranea wondered as she knelt down, reaching out for Carbuncle. The creature hissed, moving to hide behind Prompto’s ankles. He laughed nervously.

“She, uh, takes some time to warm up to people.”

“Thank you for your assistance, Aranea. We’d be more than happy to explain. If it’s not terribly inconvenient, could you possibly drop us off at Angelgard?” Ignis asked politely.

“Easy, Iggy, you’re among friends. Of course I can take you to Angelgard. In the meantime, how about a bite to eat? I’ll have Biggs show you to your quarters afterwards,” she offered. The three exchanged looks between them and nodded, turning to follow as she led them deeper inside the airship. “Will you guys be needing one room, or three? I’m assuming you’ve all made up by now,” she joked. Prompto laughed, but Ignis and Gladio kept their comments to themselves.

“Yep, one big happy family again,” Prompto confirmed, Carbuncle now perched protectively on his shoulders.

“Gladio, I was glad to hear you were alive, I was starting to think you’d taken our break up harder than I thought,” she added good naturedly.

“Uh no, I’m fine—” After Ignis gave him a look, he amended the statement. “I mean, thanks. Luckily Prompto found me before things got too bad.” He knew he was being awkward, but it was strange for him to be in the presence of someone he once thought he would marry considering how things had turned out with Ignis. Eventually they reached the mess hall, and a couple casually dressed attendants began to serve food as they sat down.

“So what’s the scoop? Tell me the real reason the Council went haywire. I heard the orders to take you guys into custody over the radio,” she explained before taking a bite into a bread roll.

“There’s an Ardyn clone on the loose and they think we might be involved. Apparently he’s the one in charge of this new wave of daemons, and one of them turned Gladio for a while—until we could save him. Me and Carbuncle, that is. The Council doesn’t seem too comfortable with us having a power they don’t understand.” Aranea stopped chewing and leaned towards Prompto, gaze panning over to his furry friend critically.

“Wait a minute, so those rumors were true? _You’re_ the Godslinger they’ve been talking about?” Gladio rolled his eyes and exhaled in exasperation while Ignis resisted the urge to laugh outright.

“Yep, that’s me,” Prompto preened, flexing one toned arm in confirmation.

“Unfortunately, Ardyn dealt us a blow and now we need to return to Angelgard to regroup,” Ignis went on. Gladio wasn’t eating, and had tuned out most of the conversation. Instead, he watched the shape of Ignis’s lips as he talked, entranced. Aranea spent some time looking at the three of them, eyes narrowing suspiciously. After some pointed looks, Gladio finally noticed she was glaring at him.

“What?” He questioned blandly.

“Oh gods. It happened, didn’t it?” She pointed a manicured finger accusingly at Gladio, then at Ignis, realization dawning on her face.

“Huh? What happened?” Prompto wondered, also looking at his friends.

“What are you talking about?” Gladio demanded, but it was obvious he was already flustered.

“Bless the Six, it _did_!” Aranea crowed, jumping up from the table. “Oh, this is just _perfect_.” Gladio’s face reddened with growing anger.

“Did I miss something?” Prompto whispered to Ignis, who was busy adjusting an invisible pair of glasses on his face. He chose not to answer, as the words he wanted to use were far from eloquent.

“Well it’s about damn time,” she laughed. “Don’t worry, I’ll leave you two alone, but that means I get to mess around with baby face.” Gladio smacked one hand on the table loudly, making the room grow still.

“Enough, Aranea.” Her smug expression didn’t change in spite of his threatening timbre.

“If you need me, you know where to find me. Otherwise, I’ll catch you guys later.” Stabbing the filet of meat on her plate and taking a bite, she walked off with a flourish of swinging hips, obviously pleased with herself. The table grew quiet with the tension that formed in her wake.

“Uh, guys?” Prompto inquired meekly.

“Don’t ask,” Gladio snapped before getting up and storming out of the room. Ignis, glancing first at the ceiling, slowly rose to follow him.

“Iggy?” Prompto called, but his friend continued on without him. The gunman finished his meal before looking at Carbuncle, perplexed. “Wonder what’s got them so worked up?”

 

* * *

 

Ignis and Gladio disappeared for the rest of the day, which left Prompto to explore Aranea’s airship. Carbuncle padded along like a snowy shadow, never far from sight. He realized now how much her presence meant to him, and had gone from resenting her prying eyes to being thankful to always have someone to talk to. Hopefully once they reached Angelgard and returned to the Astral Plane they would find a way to restore their bond and defeat the daemon scourge that battered Eos.

Prompto soon found himself in the ship’s engine room where he was investigating its inner workings when he heard light footsteps approaching. Leaning against an electronic panel to his right was Aranea, both eyes trained on her guest. “Where’d Gladio and Ignis run off to?” He questioned conversationally.

“Oh, they’re probably busy sucking each other off right now. I wouldn’t disturb them,” she said nonchalantly. Prompto scrunched his nose and looked at a different electrical panel dismissively.

“Funny, Aranea, but that wouldn’t happen in a million years.” The woman got a familiar look on her face, one that Prompto hadn’t seen in some time.

“Really? Well, how about this: if I’m wrong, I owe you a favor of your choosing,” she offered. Prompto watched her out of his peripheral vision.

“And if I’m wrong?” He ventured curiously.

“Then I get to have my way with you.” Prompto jumped as he felt Carbuncle’s sharp teeth chomp into the back of his calf in warning.

“ _Fuck_ —I mean, what—?” Aranea’s laugh filled the narrow room, bouncing off the various gauges and metal accoutrement. “Aranea, I just got back into Gladio’s good graces! There’s no way in hell I’m going to have sex with you while he’s less than twenty feet down the hall,” Prompto protested weakly as he found himself face-to-face with the attractive dragoon. Her warm breath washed over the nape of his neck as she reached to trace the edge of her nail across his jawline.

“Oh, c’mon blondie, take a risk. I promise he’ll be too busy to even notice,” Aranea cooed. A single bead of sweat slid down Prompto’s neck, and he had to react quickly to block her hands from dipping under the waist band of his pants.

“If you’re wrong about this whole thing—which you _are_ — _this_ is not happening, all right? Besides, I think I know my friends better than you,” Prompto claimed assertively. Aranea bit her lip, folding her arms as she observed him with unhidden pity.

“Fine, have it your way,” she agreed lightly. Prompto had to squeeze past her to escape into the main hall before making a bee-line for the berth of the ship where the sleeping quarters were. Carbuncle was on his heels, mewing in an irritated fashion.

“Calm down, Ange, I’m not losing this one,” Prompto promised. Carbuncle eventually quieted when they reached their destination. The golden haired man crept carefully from door to door, listening for signs of activity. He could hear two low voices speaking behind the last door he came to, and without knocking or announcing himself, pushed it open. “Hey guys, so Aranea has this crazy idea that—

Prompto choked on his words, eyes growing about ten times bigger. Gladio was sitting on one bed, shirtless as usual, but what was unexpected was the fact that Ignis now straddled him, also lacking several articles of clothing. Their stunned expressions mirrored one another’s before Gladio reached to grab a pillow, chucking it at Prompto’s head.

“Don’t you fucking knock?” He yelled as Prompto hastily backed away, shutting the door firmly. Prompto covered his mouth, reviewing the vision of his two best friends that was now burned behind his retinas.

“Holy Shiva—what the absolute—” The door swung open again, but now Gladio was fully clothed, a frown etched on his face. Prompto waved like an idiot, forcing a smile. “Hey there big guy…heh.” He braced for the punch he thought was coming, but thankfully Ignis walked up behind Gladio and placed a hand on his arm, calming the larger man. Prompto was relieved to see he was now dressed as well. The gunman had trained his gaze on the floor, too embarrassed to meet either of their eyes.

“So, uh, how long…?” He eventually asked.

“Recently,” Ignis answered. “I apologize you had to find out in such a manner.” Prompto finally lifted his chin, emboldened now that they were having a real discussion.

“Well, if you didn’t want anyone to know, you should have locked the door,” he retorted matter-of-factly. Gladio did punch him then, straight in the chest, and it knocked him back a few steps.

“Owww,” Prompto whined.

“Can it, Prompto,” the commander ordered. Prompto rubbed the spot where Gladio had hit him, lips pursed, then redirected his attention to Ignis.

“I never knew you were… I mean, either of you. It’s sort of a relief,” he admitted sheepishly. His mind wandered to Noctis and he somberly added: “I’m glad you two have a chance at happiness together.” Ignis smiled, reaching out to pat Prompto’s head affectionately.

“Thank you, Prompto, that means a lot coming from you.” The older man’s smile was infectious, and before Prompto knew it, he was grinning like an idiot.

“All right, but don’t get _too_ distracted, we got a world to save,” Prompto reminded them with his typical exuberance. With a little dance, he excused himself from the conversation, but as soon as he was out of sight he stopped to sit against the wall, hands clasped between his knees. He wasn’t sure what brought the tears, but as he bowed his head, Noctis’s face grew clear in his mind. If only things had been different, maybe he could have had what Ignis and Gladio now shared—but that time had long since passed.

“So, how’d it go?” Aranea’s voice drawled, shaking Prompto out of his memories abruptly. He yelped as he tried to scramble backwards and banged his head on a doorknob. “Easy, sharp shooter,” she cackled. Carbuncle now positioned herself in Prompto’s lap, tail twitching as her ears lay flat against her head. “Judging from your face, I’d say you lost our bet. See you tonight,” she claimed confidently before strolling off. Prompto avoided looking at Carbuncle as he crawled back to his door and slipped into the bedroom Biggs had designated for him. Fully intent on ignoring Aranea, he ended up locking the door before drifting off to sleep.  

 

* * *

 

An announcement on the intercom jolted Prompto and the others out of sleep. “Hey there crew and delinquents, we’re landing at Angelgard if anyone gives a shit.” Aranea’s blasé tone cut out as quickly as it had come and made Prompto slightly nervous. Maybe if he just snuck over to Gladio and Ignis’s room he could escape her wrath for not keeping up his end of the bargain. Taking care to open his door as quietly as possible, he poked his head out, first looking to the left and then to the—

“Going somewhere?” The dragoon had her arms folded, accenting her full chest and annoyance to the umpteenth degree.

“Wait, Aranea, it’s not what it looks like.” It was exactly what it looked like, and he knew it.

“I’ve never been stood up before,” she said with apparent ire. Prompto cringed, putting his hands up in surrender.

“It just wouldn’t be right—” He started to protest, but she stopped him.

“Please tell me you haven’t completely crossed over to the dark side. Visiting on occasion is fine, but you’re actually half decent in bed and now that I’m single it’d be nice to have the occasional tryst.” Prompto gaped at her brashness, his tongue tripping over his own words.

“No, I mean, it’s not _that_ , I’ve just been busy lately and I need to stay focused. Besides, Ange gets weird about stuff like that.” Carbuncle seemed to appear as if summoned, her beady eyes zeroing in on Aranea’s face.

“Ooh, so your goddess wants a celibate monk to keep for herself, huh?” Aranea knelt before the celestial animal and Prompto froze, bracing himself for confrontation. “Listen, your holiness, our dear little Prompto is a lonely ball of anxiety and gunpowder. Sometimes the best thing you can do is take him into an open area and let him explode—figuratively speaking. So maybe you should relax your claws and let me help you, help him.” _Good gods, did she just_ wink _at Angelique?_ Prompto thought. Carbuncle’s tail flicked, and no one spoke. Then, as if dipping a foot in to test the temperature of the water, the beast rubbed against Aranea’s side, ears perking up. To Prompto’s surprise, she even let Aranea run a hand through her white fur in a show of good faith. “Thank you, Carbuncle.” 

“Uh…” Prompto was truly at a loss for words. Was this the goddess’s way of granting him permission? ( _Not that I need it_ , he reminded himself.)

Aranea grabbed Prompto by the hand and pulled him along while Carbuncle stayed behind. The blonde snuck one last look over his shoulder at his guardian before allowing himself to be led into Aranea’s bed chamber, the door clicking decisively in its latch as she pulled it closed.

 

* * *

 

_I’ll never forget the desperate look in his eyes when he asked: “Ignis, what do I do?” He had asked me the same question countless times before for a myriad number of reasons--the correct settings for laundry, for instance, and how he should not, under any circumstances, mix colors in with his white button downs. Or, how to put on a tie for formal occasions, taking care to not make it too short or too long to avoid looking unkempt. The best way to cook eggs so they were light and fluffy, as opposed to charred and stuck to the pan (which he still struggled with). Ways to maintain organization for an optimal studying environment, and so on. As his advisor, I always had an answer prepared, but as he buried his head in his hands, tears flowing, I could not formulate an adequate response that would end his suffering._

_“How do I tell him we can’t be together anymore?” I heard my prince’s heart breaking as he struggled to get the words out. He had confided with me about his relationship with Prompto, a secret I kept with honor, as he had told no one else. That morning while in the council room, I snuck a glance in his direction when King Regis had laid out the terms of the treaty, the engagement to Lunafreya striking a heavy chord, even amongst the councilmen. Noctis’s face was pointedly neutral, but I noticed the tapping of his foot as one knee bounced up and down, the way he let his gaze fall to the report in front of him, and the firm line of his lips pressed together. He held it in until we were in the car. In the rearview mirror I spied him looking out the window, fist pressed to his face to hide the downturned lips accompanied by muffled crying. I had turned the music up slightly for his benefit, allowing him to mourn with dignity, but what I saw before me now was raw emotion—a young man on the brink._

_I searched his face, feeling helpless, and tried to think of something that wouldn’t sound trite. My hand came to rest on his shoulder as we sat side by side on the couch in his modest apartment, the sobs racking his body so that I felt their forceful vibration in the tips of my fingers. “There are no words that I can give you, Noctis. However, there are times we all must do things for the greater good that are difficult, even painful. We find the strength because of the ones we love. While Prompto may be hurt, he will ever be by your side.”_

_“Exactly! He will have to stand there and watch as this all happens! I can’t do that to him.” Noctis protested. The young prince was on his feet now, pacing like a wild thing._

_“For what it’s worth, Gladio and I will be there as well. You will not have to go through this alone, that, I promise you,” I replied, hoping my words would reassure him._

_“Yeah, I won’t be alone, but what about Prompto? He’ll think I’ve abandoned him,” Noctis spat angrily. “How can I do that to my best friend?” I knew there was nothing I could say to calm the storm that was brewing inside of him, and it made my heart ache. There was no answer that would suffice, so instead of giving him hollow words, I did what I could—I got up and began to brew a pot of tea along with a spread of the prince’s favorite desserts. He retreated to his room once I stepped into the kitchen, the sound of the kettle boiling in tandem with his pained cries. By the time I knocked on the door to Noctis’s bedroom, everything had gone quiet. When he didn’t answer, I nudged the door open to find him face down in his pillow in a fitful sleep._

_Setting the tray at his bedside, I sat in the armchair beside him and placed a steadied hand on his head, combing through his tussled hair._

_“Everything will be all right,” I murmured, but for the life of me, I couldn’t decide whether I was speaking to my ward or myself._

When Ignis opened his eyes, he turned his head to see Gladio sleeping soundly next to him, mouth slightly ajar and long hair sweeping across one stubbled cheek. He studied the dark haired man, questioning why he would have dreamt of that now, and thanking all the gods that he would never have to go another day wondering what it would be like to live without him.

 

* * *

 

Breakfast that morning was much more pleasant than their first meal on the airship. Ignis and Gladio sat beside one another, elbows nearly touching, and Prompto and Aranea sat opposite of them. There was an unspoken knowledge of what had transpired overnight, but this time, no one was eager to draw attention to it. “If you need any backup on Angelgard, just say the word. We’ll wait for you to get back,” Aranea promised before giving each of them a radio transmitter. Once they finished their food and said their thanks, the three men were delivered onto the island, making their way back to the shrine where Prompto and Ignis had first traveled to the Astral Plane. Gladio was eager to join them, hoping that he too would get to see Noctis again, but not holding on to any expectations in the event it wasn’t meant to be.

As they walked, Prompto wondered how Levi and the Astralians had fared during their absence. There were signs of them all over the island, ranging from empty campfire rings to freshly made trails, but they didn’t see anyone even after they entered the cave leading to their place of worship. As soon as the shrine came into view, Carbuncle morphed into her human form and approached the altar, lighting the incense with a mere touch of her fingers. Gladio marveled as the crystalline walls that burned with an ethereal glow.

“Come forth—I will assist in your ascension,” Angelique explained, one hand held aloft to beckon them forward. The three men approached, Gladio still uncertain as to how the process would work, but following in Ignis and Prompto’s footsteps. The goddess’s ruby light engulfed them as they drew near, their surroundings melting away before delivering them into the same field they had seen Noctis during their last visit. Gladio didn’t realize his mouth had dropped open until Ignis tapped him lightly, causing him to shut it. Stretching across the sky were dancing lights that twinkled everywhere they looked, and standing in the middle of the reflective pool at their feet, was Noctis in kingly raiment and a welcoming smile on his face.

“Gladio, I was hoping you would make it here,” Noctis exclaimed in greeting as he moved in their direction. Gladio didn’t budge at first, too stunned to speak until Noctis was an arms’ length away.

“They told me, but I didn’t think…” Gladio scanned Noctis from top to bottom in obvious disbelief. “Is it really you?” He reached out one hand to rest on Noctis’s chest, feeling for the natural rise and fall of breath and the beating of his heart. Noctis couldn’t help but laugh.

“It’s me.” They embraced then, and Gladio squeezed tightly, reluctant to pull away. When they finally did, Noctis grew serious, sharing looks between the three of them. “It seems you need a bit more help than I thought.” Prompto became bashful as Noctis looked to him expectantly.

“Yeah, uh, Ardyn the Sequel smashed the ring you gave me. Did you know about him?” The blonde man studied Noctis carefully, watching his expression. He nodded slowly, earning a gasp from Prompto. Ignis and Gladio’s eyebrows raised in unified surprise.

“Shortly after my ascension, I was shown a prophecy by the Six. It’s part of the reason you were called to Angelgard.” Prompto put the pieces together, realizing for the first time that the Crystal must have been activated by none other than his best friend.

“And the Crystal? How did it end up in Zegnautus Keep?” Ignis questioned. A breeze rippled the pool around them, temporarily obscuring their reflections.

“Ardyn retrieved it shortly after your initial visit. He has been using it as a means to control the daemons.” Considering the gravity of his words, Noctis didn’t seem to be very concerned about their implications for Eos. Although he couldn’t quite put his finger on it, Prompto felt like there was something Noct wasn’t telling them, and that alarmed him more than the threat Ardyn now posed to the world.

“So what now? Defeat Ardyn and things will go back to normal?” Gladio wondered. They were all studying the Chosen King, wanting a straight forward answer, but he hesitated, not replying right away.

“I will bestow the blessings of the gods upon you three. For now, that’s the best that I can do. The rest of it you’ll have to figure out on your own.” Prompto was less than satisfied, and had half the mind to say so, but something was holding him back. Luckily, Gladio didn’t seem convinced either and continued to press Noctis for answers.

“Cor and I found research in Gralea that suggested there might be a kill switch for the MTs, or some sort of override.” All eyes swiveled suddenly in Prompto’s direction, making him squirm. “With Ardyn in control of the Crystal, is Prompto in any danger from that?” Noctis directed his response at Prompto, unblinking.

“So long as Carbuncle is with you, I won’t let that happen.” In spite of the assurance, Prompto couldn’t help the general sense of unease that was evoked from his statement. Noctis waved his hand smoothly, and Carbuncle appeared in her true form, jumping onto Prompto’s right shoulder in one hop. Leaning her head down, she pressed her ruby to the barcode on his wrist. It caused an unusual burning sensation, and shooting pain flashed through his arm briefly, making him wince. When she eventually pulled away, strange runes accompanied the ink that was already there. “This is a more permanent fix to the problem,” Noctis explained. “You two will not be so easily separated now,” he went on. To Gladio and Ignis, he added: “While I cannot do the same for you two, know that the gods go with you and will assist in your time of need.”

As if on cue, an ominous rumbling sounded in the distance. “What’s that?” Prompto asked, fingering the holster of his gun absently.

“You three have grown popular in a short amount of time. It will be tricky getting off the island, but know that you’ll have to return to Insomnia eventually. Our future depends on it.” He debated whether to say anything, but Prompto knew that if he didn’t, he might not get a second chance.

“What aren’t you telling us?” He demanded frankly. Ignis and Gladio studied the two inquisitively, interested in what Noctis would have to say to his best friend’s inquisition. Noctis placed a heavy hand on Prompto’s shoulder, eyes reflecting a deep pain.

“Prompto, do you trust me?” The Godslinger’s eyes narrowed slightly in confusion. Why would he feel the need to ask if he didn’t have a reason to doubt him?  

“Of course I do, but-” Noctis’s fingers dug into Prompto’s shirt, interrupting him. There was a violent crack overhead and lightning raced parallel to the horizon, the colored lights shuddering in its wake. The four couldn’t resist looking to the sky. Already, darkness was closing in, the ground beneath their feet shifting and falling away, threatening to pluck them from the Astral Plane.

“Then trust me.” The Chosen King pulled his hand back, and the distance between them increased ten-fold instantly.

“Wait!” Prompto pleaded, arm outstretched. As it became increasingly more difficult to make out his friend’s face, he thought he could see his lips moving, forming words he longed to hear, but there was no sound, just a buzzing in his ears like the beating of a thousand wings. 

 

* * *

 

“—damnit, someone answer me!” The three boys came to in the Angelgard shrine to the sound of Aranea yelling over their radio headsets.

Holding down the button on his ear piece, Gladio responded for them: “Aranea, we’re here.”

“Well get out! The Lucian Guard is on the ground, and they’re not here to play,” she replied, her voice accompanied by the sound of explosions and gunfire in the background.

“Run while you can,” Prompto urged. “We’ll be all right.” They were already making their way out of the cave and onto the island proper where they could see smoke above the trees.

“Nice try, Godslinger, but I’m not one to turn tail and run. Just don’t stand me up this time.” Her radio line switched off and they picked up their pace, the sounds of battle growing clearer once the sky was overhead. Several airships hovered within view, clearly marked as Kingsglaive.

“How is this happening?” Gladio lamented, the feeling of betrayal cutting deep. 

“We’ve got time to figure it out later,” Prompto said nervously, looking in every direction for their pursuers.

“Agreed, let’s rendezvous with Aranea before we think too critically about the Council’s motives,” Ignis instructed. “Prompto, can Carbuncle get us safely to the shoreline while avoiding detection?” He wondered. Carbuncle’s light was already shining on his arm in response.

“You got it, Iggy. Hold on tight and let me handle this,” Prompto asserted with a grin. Already he was slipping into the In-Between, teleporting ahead to scope out what they were up against. There were several factions of the Kingsglaive and Lucian Guard ahead, and they had surrounded Aranea’s airship. She was fighting them valiantly, but based on numbers alone she wouldn’t be able to hold them off for long. They needed to get to the shore quickly. Prompto was able to find a trail that wrapped around the edge of the island and entered the cove at an angle. It was most likely their best shot for avoiding capture. Returning to his friends, he waved them to follow and took off. Without breaking rank, they ran after him.

Everything was going smoothly, and it they could see the edge of the enclosed beach through the trees. The men’s hearts soared in their chests, and Gladio got on the radio to say: “Aranea, we’re at the cove.”

“All right, I’m coming in! Get ready to make a break for it,” she replied, her ship suddenly taking a dive away from the Insomnian aircrafts. The three men paused at the edge of the trees, mentally preparing for an all-out sprint across the sand. Prompto took a deep breath.

“All right, on the count of three—”

“One,” Gladio started for him.

“Two,” Ignis chipped in.

“Three!” Prompto yelled as he and his friends burst through the foliage, their entire bodies straining to move at top speed. They could hear glaives shouting as they were spotted, but they didn’t slow down to look, keeping their focus trained on Aranea’s airship. They had almost reached the dangling rope ladder that hovered just above the ground when the world around them began to move in slow motion. Prompto could see the curtains of the In-Between closing around them, his vision a shimmering vision of refracted light beams.

“Ange, what’s going on?” Prompto yelled as he fought to move forward, his friends around him stuck in mid stride like levitating statues on either side of him.

         _“Prompto, watch out!”_

Prompto dove to avoid the object flying towards him and felt a slash of pain across his cheek. Blood dripped down his face, creating bright red splotches in the white sand. Centering all of his energy so he could move at a normal speed, Prompto whirled to face the attacker.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” The gunner cried.

“A simple ‘hello, Your Majesty’ would have sufficed,” the red-headed man chuckled as he moved across the sand, a familiar hat perched on his head to block the sun from his glowing eyes. Prompto activated his Right Arm and Left Arm and started shooting immediately, but Ardyn merely waved his hand in front of him, an invisible shield throwing the bullets to either side as he strolled in Prompto’s direction. Prompto backed up until he reached the water, then made a move to run when he realized Ardyn wasn’t slowing. The Accursed smiled, opening his hand to summon a new weapon, and with a single flick of the whip, caught Prompto by the ankle and yanked him to the ground.

Before Prompto had the chance to get up, he found Ardyn on top of him, a dagger pressed to his throat. Swallowing, he became very still, blue eyes wide. “My, my, my, that won’t do. That was entirely too easy—again,” Ardyn chuckled before reaching to touch the wound he had inflicted on him, fingers painted crimson when he pulled his hand away.

“What do you want?” Prompto demanded, his stomach tight with apprehension. He could still see Ignis and Gladio out of the corner of his eye, backs to them both. If only they were able to move through the In-Between like he could. Ardyn’s bloodied hand grabbed Prompto’s right forearm tightly, twisting it to look at Carbuncle’s mark.

“Tsk, you two are incredibly persistent. This will hurt more than just a finger,” Ardyn said bluntly. Another blade appeared, now digging into the skin just above Prompto’s barcode.

“No—stop!” Prompto begged, panic engulfing him.

“You do realize that Noctis is the one allowing me to do this to you?” Ardyn claimed, the blade systematically slipping under the skin and hitting something hard.

“Agh--! Stop, _stop_!” Prompto screamed in desperation, feet kicking from under Ardyn’s weight.

“Listen, sunshine,” Ardyn said sharply, the words cutting through Prompto’s pain. “Your Noctis, Chosen King? He sent me here to cause chaos. To test _you_ , his best friend.”

“You’re _lying_!” Prompto screamed, spitting angrily in Ardyn’s face. A smooth motion by Ardyn had him screaming again, a pool of blood forming at his side as the fingers on his hand twitched.

“And if you’re incorrect? If this chaos is all a part of the Six’s larger plan? What will you and your beloved Carbuncle do?” Ardyn wondered with a laugh, a sound that pierced to Prompto’s core.

“Carbuncle!” Prompto shouted, his very soul crying out. The world was suddenly painted redder than the bodily fluid that now covered his entire arm. Ardyn’s laughing continued even as he vanished and the world was brought back up to speed. Ignis and Gladio skidded to a stop, shocked that Prompto was suddenly fifty feet behind where he had been only a second previously. The pause was enough time for a bazooka to fire, the sound of the rocket launcher’s shell whistling as it headed straight for Aranea’s airship. There was no opportunity for the dragoon to maneuver—her ship was struck, sending it careening into the ocean with a horrific crash. The force of the explosion subsequently sent Gladio and Ignis to their knees.

“Aranea!” Gladio yelled into the radio.

“Don’t worry guys, we’ll be fine, just might have to float to shore. Sorry we can’t bail you out,” Aranea responded grimly.

“Prompto, are you all right?” Ignis asked as they scrambled over the sand to their friend. The Kingsglaive were now gaining ground. They would reach them before they had a chance to run. Prompto struggled to sit up, clutching his battered arm with a wince.

“I’ll be fine,” Prompto promised shakily. Ignis and Gladio surveyed the Lucian Guard somberly, accepting their fate. _Angel, if you’re there, we could use a miracle._ Prompto thought as the men before them fanned in a semi-circle, weapons at the ready.

“Come peacefully, by order of the Council!” One man ordered. This time, Ignis and Gladio made no move to fight, arms raising over their heads in a show of surrender. Even as they were resigning themselves to captivity, there was a loud rumbling as the ground beneath their feet began to shake with violent tremors. Even their pursuers couldn’t keep their footing and tripped, falling to their knees. Everyone looked around, terrified by the strange phenomenon. Ignis and Gladio crouched low, holding to Prompto protectively, unsure what was about to happen.

“Over there!” Someone yelled, pointing into the distance at the wing-like rock formations of Angelgard. A thick cloud of dust had been swept up over the trees as the prominences shifted and cracked, explaining the earthquake.

“What the hell-?” Gladio asked what they all were thinking. Everyone watched with open mouthed expressions as the two ‘wings’ of Angelgard tumbled down and the ocean waves grew higher around them, but even as the mountain collapsed, the shaking continued. The Kingsglaive and Lucian guardsmen were attempting to get to their feet, still intent on taking them into custody, until a large shadow covered the entire area. Heads tilted up towards the sun, and a collective gasp emitted from everybody present.

“Holy—

“—Bahamut!” Ignis exclaimed, cutting Prompto off. There, blocking out the burning star in the sky, was none other than the strongest of the Six, the Draconian. Frantic shouting suddenly filled the air as the Kingsglaive and Lucian Guard retreated, heading for their own airships. Bahamut swooped down towards them, the strength of his wings causing tornados of sand to form across the beach. The strength of the vibrations from his roar as he landed was enough to cause men to fall over trembling in fear. Ignis, Gladio, and Prompto all stared up at the god, speechless as he lowered his head, which was bigger than that of Aranea’s airship. _He was the one who formed the wings of Angelgard!_ Prompto realized, mouth wide.

_. . . H E R O E S  O F  E O S . . ._

The booming voice wasn’t formed from words, but an internal knowledge that they all instantaneously shared.

“Y-yes, your holiness? Your- eminence? Your majesty?” Gladio elbowed Prompto roughly in the ribs to get him to stop talking.

         . . . J O I N  M E . . .

No one moved as Bahamut lowered one leathery wing, offering it to them as a platform to climb onto his back. Gladio elbowed Prompto again, this time not as hard. “Go,” the bigger man urged.

“You want me to go first?! Are you _crazy_?” Prompto hissed, looking between Ignis and Gladio accusingly.

“Think of it like riding a huge chocobo,” Gladio suggested, voice barely above a whisper. It was obvious that even he was in awe of the celestial being. “A very, very large chocobo with razor sharp teeth.” Bahamut’s golden eye trained on Prompto then, and he could see all three of their bodies reflected in it clearly. Slowly, the Godslinger got to his feet and stepped onto the wing of the dragon, surprised by its springy quality and the sheer size of it. It covered the majority of the sandy beach, and the tips of it dipped into the ocean, bumping against the ships moored there. It took Prompto a minute to traverse it and reach the spine of the god’s back.

. . . D O  N O T  F E A R  . . .

With Bahamut’s beckoning, Ignis and Gladio joined Prompto on the Draconian’s ridge, each of them clinging to a jagged protrusion of scales. Without warning, the beast of legend began to flap his wings and take to the sky, causing more movement on the island and swells of water as he ascended. Prompto let out a squeak as the world grew ever smaller and they soared through the clouds. Eventually, Bahamut steadied his altitude and they made their way aimlessly across Lucis. The blonde haired man resisted the urge to look down, his stomach flipping from the height.

“What happened on Angelgard?” Gladio asked, finally regaining his nerve after their fateful encounter with one of the Six. Prompto glanced down at the dried blood that now stained his skin and clothing, suddenly brought back to reality by his friend’s question. Ignis looked at him with concern, one hand resting on Prompto’s back encouragingly.

“I… saw Ardyn again. He told me…” Prompto hesitated, not wanting to say it out loud. “He claims that Noctis is the one behind this, that he sent him to challenge us.” Both Gladio and Ignis were obviously stunned by this revelation and didn’t speak right away.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Ignis said, but his tone was unsure.

 _Ange, no comment?_ Prompto wondered bitterly to himself. The goddess had been strangely silent since Bahamut had rescued them, and it was making him suspicious. Could there be any truth to Ardyn’s words? Just thinking about it made him sick.      

“You can’t be serious. There’s no way Noct would do something like that,” Gladio claimed, obviously perturbed that either one of his friends would even consider it a plausible explanation.

“Yeah, you’re right, it’s probably just Ardyn screwing with us,” Prompto agreed, but a seed of doubt had been sewn in his heart. “Where to now?” He asked, forcing a smile for their benefit. No one had an answer. They all suspected that the Council would seek to track them no matter where they went in Lucis, and it was only a matter of time before they would have to face them head on. With no one willing to answer, they sat in silence, at Bahamut’s mercy. Eventually, the god began to descend over the Disc of Cauthess, landing in the large crater left by Titan. When he finally touched down, the dragon settled back on his haunches and spread his wings to release the three men. Saying their thanks, they slid down to earth.

Once on their feet, Prompto turned to the god, a tightness in his chest. “Uh, Bahamut—sir?” The Draconian slowly blinked his enormous eyes, bringing his head directly above the blonde so that Prompto could feel the creature’s warm breath ruffling his hair. In spite of being deathly afraid, the gunman cleared his throat and attempted to speak.

“What is it that you want from us? Are we supposed to defeat Ardyn and the daemons? Or was Insomnia doomed from the beginning, even with Noctis’s sacrifice? I just can’t believe—” Prompto had to take a deep breath to steady himself. “—that everything we went through was for nothing.” Ignis and Gladio were watching Prompto intently, unsure if they should interrupt or let him vent. Prompto looked directly at Bahamut then, an uncharacteristic assertiveness surging inside his body.

“We’ve all lost more than any person deserves to lose. Please, please tell me that my best friend—your _Chosen_ King, would never hurt us on purpose. Because if that’s not the case, I’d rather die now because I have nothing— _nothing_ , left to believe in.” Prompto could feel hot tears stinging his eyes, but he refused to blink, both fists clenched. Bahamut, gentler than anything of such size should be, touched the tip of his nose to Prompto’s body.

. . . U N N A T U R A L  C H I L D  O F  F L E S H  A N D  M E T A L,

 Y O U R  P U R P O S E  W I L L  B E  M A D E  C L E A R  I N  T I M E . . .

Prompto sobbed then, unable to hold it any more. His knees grew weak and he threw his arms across Bahamut, clinging to the god’s jaw. Gladio and Ignis shifted, sharing a look before stepping forward to place their arms around their friend. “I’m done playing games! Ardyn, come and get me you bastard!” Prompto shouted angrily.

“Prompto…” Ignis spoke softly before pulling him away from Bahamut. Collapsing in Ignis’s arms, Prompto watched as his tears left dark spots on the man’s collared shirt.

“We can take it from here,” Gladio murmured to Bahamut. With another slow blink, the god departed, the gusts forcing the three to brace themselves to avoid stumbling. It didn’t take long before the Draconian was a speck in the distance.

“Shall we call someone for a lift?” Ignis suggested, still holding Prompto in his arms protectively.

“I’ll call Talcott and see what strings he can pull,” Gladio agreed, walking off a ways to do so. Ignis pulled Prompto into a sitting position and grabbed him firmly by his shoulders with a serious expression.

“Get a hold of yourself.” Sniffling, Prompto smacked one of Ignis’s hands away.

“Easy for you to say, lover boy. Everything’s working out for you guys! I’m stuck with some bullshit ‘calling’ that I didn’t ask for and the possibility that the one person I loved is stabbing me in the back- _after_ death!” Ignis could have gotten angry or indignant, but he didn’t.

“I realize this is a lot to process, but you also need to be aware that Gladio and I will never abandon you. Not ever. And I _cannot_ , and _will not_ , accept any foolhardy decisions regarding your life. Is that understood?” Ignis’s green eyes looked through Prompto with such intensity that he lowered his head.

“Fuck off,” Prompto spat.

“Whether you like it or not, I will not permit you to die. Have faith that Noctis would never wish that for you either. He loved you dearly, Prompto, he always has.” Prompto’s chin snapped up, his mouth forming a sneer.

“Then _why_ did he leave us? Why did he leave _me_?” He was crying out of rage, unable to help himself. “That bastard never cared about us!” Ignis raised his hand suddenly and Prompto flinched away, but the blow never came. Instead, the older man took a deep and metered breath.

“You know that is far from the truth,” Ignis reprimanded, saddened by Prompto’s apparent pain. Gladio was walking back, and his eyebrows raised when he noticed Ignis and Prompto deep in conversation. With a small sigh, Ignis pulled away from Prompto. “Stay here.” It was an order that Prompto didn’t intend to follow. As soon as Ignis joined Gladio, the younger man stormed off, intent on putting distance between him and his friends.

“Carbuncle, you better tell me what’s going on,” Prompto demanded, glaring down at his wrist. “You’re a god. Don’t tell me you don’t know whether what Ardyn said is true or not,” he went on, sensing her unease.

 _“Ardyn seeks to harm you and oversimplify the truth,”_ Carbuncle started to say.

“The truth, huh? So it _is_ true?” Now out of sight from Gladio and Ignis, Prompto stopped abruptly. He saw Angelique form in front of him, her expression one of remorse. Taking a defensive stance, Prompto folded his arms, eyebrows pulled down in a deep frown. “Start talking,” Prompto barked, not caring that he was in the presence of a deity. Angelique’s eyes searched the man’s face as she chose her words with care.

“After Noctis’s ascension, the Six showed him a prophesy of what was to come. A terrible future where man turned against man due to a lack of a common enemy to unite them. Thousands of unnecessary deaths and widespread destruction. What most humans do not understand is that you cannot have light without darkness. A balance must be maintained, Prompto. Without it, the world is destined to fail.”

“What does that have to do with Ardyn and the daemons, then? Did Noctis really send him after us?” Prompto asked, still unconvinced.

“The Accursed King knows better than most what it means to sacrifice oneself to maintain order, as horrible as his actions may seem. He proposed taking the darkness upon himself in order to save Eos from the path prophesied by the Six. King Noctis knew that you and his other friends would carry the mantle of light, thus restoring the balance.” Something in Prompto snapped then, and he felt numb. 

“So Noctis _allowed_ Ardyn and the daemons to return, assuming we’d handle it?” Prompto summarized, scoffing.

“You were called by the Crystal—”

“I was _manipulated_! By Noctis _and_ you!” Prompto yelled. “You knew this whole time and didn’t tell me! You let Gladio become a daemon, and countless others were hurt,” Prompto pointed out incredulously. Angelique spread her hands, maintaining her calm.

“You may not understand it now, Prompto, but you shall.” Before he knew what he was doing, a gun was in his hands, trained on the woman before him.

“Fuck no I won’t.” He cocked his weapon. “Get away from me. We’re done here.” For once, Angelique’s surprise showed on her face and she was rendered at a loss for words.

“…Surely you don’t mean that.”

“I do. Get out.” Prompto’s hand didn’t waver, even as Ignis and Gladio rounded the corner and found them at a standoff.

“Prompto, Noctis has bound us—” He interrupted her again, furious.

“Then _unbind_ us! I’m done with all of this shit. You, Ardyn, the daemons, Noctis— _done_.” 

“Prompto, what do you think you’re doing?” Gladio barked. Still staring down the barrel of the gun, Angelique finally bowed her head submissively.

“As you wish,” she acquiesced softly. In the blink of an eye, she was gone, with no trace of a mark left on Prompto’s body.

“Hand me the gun,” Ignis said levelly. Without looking, Prompto held the pistol out and Ignis took it roughly. “We’re going home to face the Council,” he added, not leaving room for questions. “According to Talcott they’ve imprisoned the Astralians and are threatening to execute them if we do not return to stand trial. If we are imprisoned, so be it, but I will not tolerate the shedding of innocent blood on our behalf.”

“Suits me just fine,” Prompto agreed flatly. He didn’t wait for Gladio and Ignis to follow before he started walking again, but they followed anyway, none of them certain what the future held.

 

* * *

 

As soon as the three friends entered the city of Insomnia they were arrested and taken to the Citadel for holding. All of their weapons were confiscated, and Prompto’s arms were shackled, his reputation as the ‘Godslinger’ resulting in higher level security and scrutiny. In spite of their imprisonment, everyone they came in contact with treated them with kindness and spoke to them apologetically out of respect for their reputations. Prompto thought there might have been some healthy fear mixed in as well, especially with how Gladio insisted on glaring at any person within eyesight. They were denied their request to speak with any of their friends in Insomnia, but Ignis was hopeful that the Council might still see reason- provided that Prompto not say anything brash. He and Gladio shared cells directly across from one another, while Prompto was held in a solitary space down the hall. The square units were small, but relatively comfortable, with a bed, a low sitting bench, and room to walk in a wide circle. There were no windows however, and the glass wall facing the hallway was magically reinforced to prevent someone from breaking out using brute strength. After several hours of listless limbo, a familiar face finally entered the jail, causing both Ignis and Gladio to perk up from where they sat facing one another.

“Marshal!” Gladio greeted in relief. Cor Leonis shooed the guards away and didn’t say a word until they were alone, standing directly between the two cells to survey the prisoners within.

“You have gotten yourselves in some deep shit. I only left for two days!” He lamented. “Half the Council has a mind to keep you locked up,” the Immortal went on to explain.

“And the other half?” Ignis ventured, not thrilled by what Cor was implying.

“The other half would see Prompto killed and you two exiled.” His words were like a heavy blow to them all.

“What?” Gladio was on his feet in alarm, hands pressed to the glass. Ignis had one hand held to cover his mouth, deep in thought. “What reason would they have to kill him? He’s never done anything to them!”

“Someone got it in their heads that he will use his power to wreak more havoc, possibly even try to take over. They’re blaming him for the rise of the daemons. I’m not sure how they found out, but they know he’s an MT,” Cor explained with a grimace.

“Fuck!” Gladio growled, hands on his head as he paced. “We can’t let that happen, Marshal. If he goes down, we’re going down with him,” the Shield said with conviction.

“Indeed,” Ignis agreed. “How much time do we have until we’re brought forward for questioning?” He wondered, a plan starting to take shape.

“Not long. I’d say maybe an hour,” Cor replied with a sigh.

“Are you able to see Prompto?” He then asked. The Marshal shook his head from side to side.

“No. They’re not allowing any visitors, not even higher ups. Listen, know that you have my sword if this goes sour, but I’m going to have to play this close to the chest during the proceedings. I won’t be able to help you if I’m behind bars too.” Ignis and Gladio nodded to convey their understanding. “They released Iris after my badgering, and immediately sent her to capture Aranea and her crew. She agreed to her mission enthusiastically and promised to take them into custody,” Cor commented with a smile, hinting at what they suspected. That at least was some good news. If a battle was what they wanted, the Council would have it, but Ignis knew every move had to be made with the utmost caution.

“What of the Astralians?” Ignis wondered, abruptly remembering the threats the Council had made.

“They believe they’re also responsible, and similar to Prompto, they don’t trust them. I’m not optimistic they’ll be released.” Gladio made an irritated noise, which Ignis sympathized with, but after a decade of darkness what was left of humanity was still in survival mode. Anything that was different or strange would become the enemy, and it was useless to try and convince people otherwise, but if they didn’t the Astralians would surely be sentenced to death.

“I have to go now. There is still a lot of work to do in preparation for what’s to come, but I felt you at least deserved a warning.” Ignis and Gladio looked to Cor appreciatively, murmuring their thanks and goodbyes. After he left, the men were quiet, absorbing the conversation.

“Iggy, if they try to hurt Prompto…” Gladio’s words were dark, and Ignis already knew the unspoken promise he intended to keep.

“I know,” was all he said. Not wanting to think on it, Ignis began to strategize, playing out several scenarios in his mind. Then, when the guards eventually came for them, placing him and Gladio in shackles, he prayed.

 

* * *

 

Prompto wasn’t surprised to see Ardyn walk into his cell. He was an idiot not to see that he was behind everything all along, even their falling out of favor with the councilmen and women who had gathered in the Crown City. He had a dark blazer buttoned over his vest and shirt and looked quite regal, the golden buttons gleaming in the low light as he approached. Prompto, chained at the ankle to the bed in the room, made no move to stand. He merely watched Ardyn like one would a snake—with resigned trepidation.

“You put up a good fight for a mere mortal,” he began, taking a seat on the bench opposite him. Prompto said nothing. All the fight left him the moment he learned Noctis had let Ardyn loose on the world. “Shall I explain to you the order of events?” Without waiting for a reply, Ardyn pulled a piece of paper out of his vest pocket and cleared his throat, making a show of unfolding and holding it out in front of him.

“First, stand trial before the Council, during which, you will confess that you were coerced by the gods and influenced by daemons to destroy Eos. Second, accept your sentencing—death, of course, and offer your heartfelt apologies to the world. There will be tears from your man friends, but your shouldering of responsibility will be made in exchange for their exile and the release of the Astral worshippers. They, of course, were brainwashed by your charisma and were merely sheep being led to the slaughter. Third, I will be acknowledged as the King of Insomnia for bringing you to justice, and the Council will be placed in my capable hands. Last, but not least, the gods will be silenced as the Oracle line is completely eradicated by your public execution. What do you think?” Prompto stared blankly ahead as Ardyn’s words washed over him.

He should say something—anything. After all this trouble and years of waiting to eradicate the darkness, could he really just give in so easily? Somewhere inside he could feel Carbuncle’s light, a desperate plea for him to protest, but he couldn’t bring himself to open his mouth. The thought of being betrayed by Noctis, used in some greater scheme, was too much for Prompto’s heart to bear. He stared down at his hands and avoided looking at the man before him, ready to be led like a sheep to the slaughter. Ardyn, obviously pleased with himself, got to his feet to refold the paper and tuck it away.

“Ignis and Gladio.” Ardyn slipped his hands into his pockets as Prompto finally worked up the nerve to speak. “You won’t hurt them?” His words sounded hollow, even in his own ears.

“You have my word as a Lucian king,” Ardyn promised with an exaggerated bow. Prompto continued to stare down at his hands, studying the dried blood that had settled under his finger nails with an absent expression. He should have felt relieved, or maybe saddened, but all he felt was a chilling numbness.

“Okay,” he finally agreed. “I’ll do it.” What choice did he have? Ardyn had him cornered and wouldn’t stop until he achieved total chaos. The Accursed came closer then, patting Prompto on the back encouragingly.

“A noble choice, Prompto Argentum.” The blonde man wasn’t exactly sure when Ardyn left, but eventually realized he was no longer there when a group of four Kingsglaive came to retrieve him.

“It’s time,” one of them said as they unlocked the door. Prompto followed demurely as he was led out of the prison and through the Citadel to the grand hall. As he walked the chains on his arms and legs clinked and rattled, and his mind wandered to several months earlier when they had fought Ardyn in this same spot and lifted the Long Night. It seemed like a fading dream now- the idea that they all stood together, fighting for one goal. Now, he wasn’t sure if there was anything worth fighting for.

The Kingsglaive pushed open the doors to reveal the Council sitting at a long table, several leaders from across Eos and their most trusted advisors all turned to gawk as he was brought forward. Prompto recognized the First Secretary of Accordo, and Ardyn (of course) was seated at the head of the table, but he otherwise resisted the urge to look too closely at any one person. Off to either side of Prompto were Gladio and Ignis, flanked by their own contingents of guards. It appeared like they had been waiting for him to arrive.   

“Council members, shall we begin?” Ardyn suggested with a formal air. Prompto couldn’t even summon enough strength to be angry, but Gladio and Ignis glared at the man with unveiled contempt. “Standing before you now are the men responsible for the return of the daemon hordes. Their desire for power has led them to seek out the gods and attempt to bend them to their will. If they are not stopped, I fear the earth will fall into darkness, just as it did when crown-prince Noctis abandoned his post to pursue the Crystal’s magic.” Both Gladio and Ignis gaped at Ardyn’s blatant lies, but those at the table all nodded sagely, seeming to buy his charade.

“Council members, you are making a grave mistaking in believing this man. He is none other than the former High Chancellor of Niflheim, Ardyn Izunia, and only seeks to dispose of us so he can bend Insomnia and the rest of the world to his will,” Ignis spoke out passionately.

“Is that so?” One man asked with a scoff. “Then how is it the daemons began to invade our lands as soon as Prompto Argentum was found at Angelgard? It wasn’t until he returned from meeting with the Astralians that all hell broke loose!” Prompto listened as people argued about him like he wasn’t even there, his vision studying the marble floor with disinterest.

“You were the ones who fled the city and returned to Angelgard. The Kingsglaive there were brutally slaughtered by your antics and summoning of one of the Six,” someone else pointed out. Prompto vaguely acknowledged that Ardyn must have done more damage after Bahamut had saved them, and wondered if Aranea had made it out okay. Would she mourn him after he was dead? He let the thought fade amongst the escalating tension.  

“These men must be stopped to protect the delicate balance we have established. If not, we may all perish,” another claimed. Gladio and Ignis attempted to protest, but were quickly drowned out as the Council erupted with bickering. Ardyn must be enjoying this, Prompto thought to himself.

“I did it.” Prompto’s voice cut through the noise, causing a heaviness to saturate the air. Gladio and Ignis both cut their eyes over to him, a strangled sound emitting from Gladio’s throat. “The Six asked me to enact judgement on the world so I summoned the daemons. Gladio and Ignis were under my control, as were the Astralians. Don’t confuse their involvement as willing participation. After all, I’m the Godslinger here.” Prompto listened to his own voice like it was that of a stranger’s. The words flowed easily, and yet he still felt nothing, not even regret. He lifted his head, meeting Ardyn’s gaze where he sat comfortably watching him.

“Prompto, what are you saying?!” Ignis finally lost his composure, fighting the hold of his captors in a desperate attempt to break free. Of all the scenarios he had imagined, this hadn’t been one of them. Gladio started to struggle in response to Igis’s desperate flailing, which caused trouble for the men who sought to restrain him.

“What do you propose, Mr. Argentum?” Ardyn asked as if he didn’t already know the answer. Ignis and Gladio had both been forced to the floor violently, weapons pressed into their backs in warning. Ignis spit a wad of blood on the ground where one of the men had punched him, and one man had sat on Gladio’s back, fist wrenched in his long hair.

“I willingly present myself to be executed. In exchange, allow everyone else to live out their lives in exile. I’ll withdraw the daemons and the wrath of the gods and allow those in Lucis to live in peace.” Prompto promised what Ardyn wanted to hear. Someone from the Council was still unconvinced.

“How do we know he will keep his word? Wouldn’t it be better to keep him in captivity and try to use his powers to our advantage?” Prompto’s skin crawled as he remembered his time of torture and imprisonment in Gralea. No, he would rather kill himself than fall into the hands of researchers again. Blessedly, Ardyn didn’t seem to entertain the thought.

“Are you suggesting tampering with the Astral Plane? An awfully bold risk, councilman. It is playing god that got us into this situation,” Ardyn chastised, effectively silencing the notion. “All in favor of execution?” The Accursed then proposed.

“Prompto, please reconsider!” Ignis begged, his usually strong demeanor crumbling. “Councilmembers, I beg of you, delay this trial and give us more time to convince you otherwise. Surely you would not sentence to death one of the men who vanquished the darkness from Eos?” Any other time Ignis’s words would have inspired confidence and deferment to his better judgement, but to Gladio and Ignis’s horror, all but two council members raised their hands in favor. “So be it, we will enact his punishment at dawn. Take them away.”

“Cowards!” Gladio shouted, kicking and rolling with all the strength he possessed. “I’ll kill every last one of you!” He vowed as several more Kingsglaive surged into the room to seize his arms and legs. Prompto couldn’t bring himself to look at Ignis or Gladio, afraid he might see hate reflected in their eyes. How could they not loathe him after this? They had fought tooth and nail for him, and yet he was the first to surrender. The men guarding him tightened their hold in spite of the Godslinger’s willingness to remain their captive.

“Prompto! You have to fight them- the power of the gods is in your hands! Remember what Noctis died for,” Ignis cried as he was dragged from the room. The doors slammed shut with a resounding finality, and Prompto shuddered painfully.   

Things began to move quickly then, and Prompto was taken out next. He heard Gladio and Ignis screaming his name from down the hall as they were taken in different directions, but he submitted without protest, allowing the guards to hold him under his armpits and carry him back to his cell. He felt like he had tunnel vision, the edges of his sight tinged with black. The gunman laid on the bed in the prison and stared up at the ceiling, vaguely realizing they hadn’t bothered to put his shackles back on. Why would they though? Soon, he would be dead. In previous years the thought had terrified him, but now he welcomed it, eager to end the suffering.  

At some point he must have drifted off, but was soon shaken awake by a booming sound. Straining to listen, he could hear gun shots outside the Citadel walls. He wondered if that meant Cor had been able to rally the Lucian Guard to make a last stand against Ardyn and the Council. He got his answer as someone ran into view, fumbling to unlock his door. Prompto barely lifted his head to look, not in any rush to get up.

“Come on, let’s go!” Aranea ordered, waving the lance in her hand frantically. _Well, at least she’s alive_ , Prompto thought. When he didn’t show any intention of moving she stomped over to his beside and yanked him upright. “Get up, Prompto.” To her surprise, he pulled away. “Listen blondie, we don’t have time for this right now, hurry up!”

“I’m not going,” Prompto said firmly. Aranea rolled her eyes.

“Have your existential crisis another time!” For once, Prompto would not be convinced.

“I’m serious, Aranea. Ardyn won’t stop until I’m dead. Take Gladio and Ignis and go.” The dragoon laughed, then saw how serious his expression was and shook her head. “You’ll thank me later.” Without warning she swept his legs out from under him with her weapon, catching him by his shirt before his head smacked on the concrete. In a couple quick movements, she proceeded to knock the breath out of him and effectively made his legs go numb. Grunting with the strain, she then threw him over a shoulder and gripped him tightly, lance in the opposite hand.

“Ara—nea!” Prompto protested, wheezing.

“I’m not leaving you behind,” she said stubbornly as she wove down the hallway towards one of the Citadel’s elevators. She set him down once they got inside and pressed the button for the ground floor. When the doors slid open they were immediately battered by an array of bullets, which she deflected with a twirl of metal. Her movements were too fast to track with the naked eye as she made quick work of the men in the large lobby. After the unconscious bodies were strewn across the floor, she trotted back to where Prompto sat propped in the corner and dragged him behind her out of the building. He was starting to regain feelings in his leg and tried to stand, wobbling like a newborn Anak calf. Aranea’s eyes scanned him up and down. “Don’t do anything stupid or I’ll put your lights out,” she threatened.

“Yes ma’am.” Prompto was in no mood to make her an enemy. He could see smoke coming from behind some of the more prominent downtown buildings and trotted to keep up with the mercenary as she broke into a jog. “What happened?” The man finally dared to ask.   

“Cor had to cause a few diversions to draw the Kingsglaive loyal to the Council away from the Citadel. He and Iris managed to spring Gladio and Ignis in the confusion, but now there are daemons closing in from outside the city. Everyone’s in full on panic mode. We have to evacuate.” Secretly Prompto knew that this was Ardyn’s doing. He was further cementing the Council’s belief that he was to blame for everything that had befallen them. While he continued to consider Aranea’s words, they wound through the city streets to where Cor and the others were waiting in an open square.

Ignis and Gladio’s faces contorted with a mixture of emotions as Prompto came into view. Before Ignis could stop him, Gladio ran up and swung at the smaller man. Reacting instinctively, Prompto jerked backwards, falling over his own feet and flat onto his back. The air rushed out of him with a ‘whoosh!’ “What the _hell_ , Prompto?” The dark haired man yelled. Ignis was suddenly at his side, holding him back.

“Guys, save it. We need to go!” Aranea insisted with urgency, but Gladio was on a rampage and would not be stopped, even by the Six.

“What happened to doing this as a team, huh? We walk tall _together_ , remember?” People’s heads were turning as Gladio caused a scene. The Godslinger didn’t comment, staying comfortably on the street, eyes downcast. “You really thought you could sacrifice yourself and this would all go away? Don’t kid yourself!” He roared. Even Ignis couldn’t help but look disappointed in Prompto, and that hurt more than Gladio’s fury. The tirade was interrupted as several airships circled overhead loudly, looking for a place to land. Suddenly disgusted, Gladio shook off Ignis’s hand and turned on his heel, walking off with shoulders squared. Ignis knelt, offering a hand to his dejected friend.

“We can figure this out later,” Ignis promised. Reluctantly, Prompto reached to take his hand.

When the In-Between shimmered ominously, sealing everything in time, Prompto’s stomach dropped. It felt like he was standing on the edge of a tall building, waiting to fall. Amidst it all, was Ardyn, ever present. He suspected that he wouldn’t let them walk out alive.

“You have performed admirably, but unfortunately, your usefulness is coming to an end,” Ardyn explained, strolling across the plaza at a comfortable pace. Prompto rose, facing him without fear in spite of the jagged sword he carried in his hand. The blade glowed with a crimson hue not unlike Carbuncle’s ruby light. “You could join me, you know. Enact your revenge on Noctis and the Six.” The red haired man shrugged, but the sinister suggestion was at odds with his casual demeanor. “Follow me into the darkness and embrace your true calling—chaos. As an MT, you were created to bring destruction on this world,” Ardyn reminded him. Prompto would later be ashamed to admit that he seriously considered the offer.

When he looked down at Ignis, a statuesque reflection of pure hope and eyes filled with love, he knew he could never betray him or Gladio like that. “Thanks, but I’ll pass.” Ardyn chuckled at the man’s answer, swinging the sword idly in his hand. The air was thick with celestial power, and Prompto labored to breathe as the Accursed moved within striking distance.

“You won’t hurt them?” Prompto echoed the same question he asked the day before. The young-looking Ardyn smiled as he plunged his sword through Prompto’s chest smoothly and twisted. He heard his ribs cracking as easily as snapping twigs. The blonde man stared down at the hilt blankly, the pain not immediately processing in his brain. Prompto experienced the feeling of drifting, as if he were floating on his back in a pool. Images sped before his eyes, an array of memories ranging from euphoric to devastating. There was no Ardyn, no Ignis—no Eos. Instead, he was suspended in a peaceful light.

 _I could get used to this,_ Prompto mused. It was the feeling one got as the sun first peeked over the horizon in the morning, or a bird took flight, spreading its wings. Freedom, at long last. His eyes slid shut in surrender, falling towards eternal nothingness.  

 

* * *

  

_Prompto was rushing, moving as quickly as possible without breaking into a run. The announcement echoed through the mostly empty subway station: “Last call for the J Line. Doors are closing.” He managed to slip into the car just as the automatic doors closed and locked. With a sigh of relief, he flopped into an empty seat, loosened his tie, and waited as he sped towards home. Work had been relentless, and before the man knew it, the clock was chiming to signal the eleventh hour of the evening. He had noticed several missed calls on the cell phone that he had silenced around seven o’ clock and cursed before grabbing his coat and heading out into the night. As the train stopped at its final destination, Prompto got up wearily, pushing aside all thoughts of his demanding job in the Insomnian Research Department. When he stepped onto the platform the gentle pitter-patter of the rain met his ears and he emitted a sigh. His umbrella was sitting under the blonde man’s desk, completely useless to him. Before bracing himself to head into the weather, the figure of a man appeared from under a street light, shadowed by the umbrella he held over him. At first, Prompto eyed him with suspicion, but relaxed when he drew near._

_“Forget something?” The smooth voice inquired with the hint of a smile. He then held the umbrella out to Prompto invitingly. Laughing with obvious pleasure, Prompto locked arms with the newcomer and pulled close, planting a kiss on the man’s cheek. They began to walk together, the sound of the gentle rain creating background noise for their conversation._

_“How do you always know?” Prompto demanded. “Do you have a camera hidden somewhere?” Noctis grinned playfully, but shook his head._

_“You know I’m not as handy with a camera as you are. Just call it instinct.” Prompto hummed as he leaned his forehead in to touch his boyfriend’s._

_“Thank you,” Prompto gushed. Noctis gave a nod, steering him across the street and towards the small house on the corner where they lived._

_“Just don’t make a habit of making me worry,” he instructed, one hand sliding down to the small of Prompto’s back and making him blush. Prompto fumbled with the lock as Noctis’s hands grew more adventurous, and they ended up clumsily entering the mud room, kicking their shoes off as the umbrella was tossed to the ground accompanied by a splattering of rain drops. Prompto’s shirts was off before they entered the living room, and Noctis was tugging at other articles of clothing impatiently._

_“Okay, okay! Easy, killer,” Prompto laughed, returning his kisses enthusiastically while unzipping his own pants._

_“I’ve waited long enough,” Noctis claimed, and while his words sounded strange in Prompto’s ears, the man ignored the sudden flutter of anxiety they invoked. They pressed together like they had countless times since the former prince had denounced his birthright. It had been a rocky road to acceptance, especially for King Regis, but they now lived in Insomnia in peace, Noctis as a royal ambassador to the kingdoms and countries outside of Lucis, and Prompto a head researcher of mechanical engineering and magic for the Lucian military._

_When they had indulged in each other to their hearts’ content, they lay naked on the carpet, holding one another close. Noctis’s eyes reflected the moonlight that streamed through the window above and let his gaze roam freely over his love without shame. Even though he should be used to it after the last several years, Prompto flushed, fiddling with a loose tuft of hair nervously. Without words, Noctis reached for the same hand and pulled it to rest on his bare chest. “Do you trust me?”_

_The question rang in Prompto’s ears and he swallowed hard, unsure why they stirred up a feeling of unease. “You know I do, Noct.”_

_“Then you know I would never hurt you,” Noctis claimed. Prompto had to fight back the panic that threatened to surface._

_“Are you breaking up with me?” He chuckled humorlessly. Noctis shook his head, an emphatic ‘no.’ The tension melted from his boyfriend’s shoulders in instant relief._

_“You know this is what I wanted for us—to marry you, to live happily. We could have had this if I hadn’t been afraid.” Prompto wasn’t sure why Noctis was speaking in the past tense, and it was making him increasingly more nervous._

_“You’re not making sense, Noct. Stop messing with me,” Prompto pleaded, hand tightening around the one Noctis had grabbed in his. Noctis brought his nose to Prompto’s, eyes closing painfully. He even saw a tear streak down his face._

_“If you knew the world would end and I would die, and the only way to save me was to hurt me—but you wouldn’t be able to tell me_ why _you were hurting me, what would you do?” Prompto reeled from the highly hypothetical situation, scoffing as he pulled away and into a sitting position._

_“Don’t be ridiculous. I’d never hurt you,” Prompto retorted, now irritated by the sudden gravity of the situation. Noctis watched him carefully, mouth pursed in a delicate frown._

_“Even if the only alternative was losing me forever?” Prompto hesitated when he saw that Noctis’s query was genuine. He balked at it, thinking it over._

_“I’d research and find another way.” Noctis couldn’t help but smile, but now he was sitting too, taking both of Prompto’s hands in his. He thoughtfully run a thumb over a speck of freckles on his knuckles, no longer speaking. Finally, Prompto gave in. “If it was the only way to save you… I guess I’d do whatever it would take, but I’d hate myself for it afterwards, and you probably would too.” Noctis leaned in to share a deeper kiss, one laden with emotion. It felt like the prince was studying his mouth with his lips, committing it to memory._

_“I want to marry you,” Noctis breathed, sending a bolt straight through Prompto’s chest._

_“Well, the prince is supposed to marry the princess and live happily ever after, remember?” They laughed in unison as Noctis pulled Prompto back down, showering him with even more affectionate kisses and caresses._

_“I hope you can forgive me.” The statement was said so softly that at first, Prompto thought he had imagined it, but then he caught Noctis staring at him. Reflected in his eyes was something Prompto recognized—regret, remorse, and the glimpses of a disjointed vision that he had locked away. It was like a word hovered on the tip of his tongue, hiding just behind his eyes. He was crying silently and hadn’t noticed until that moment. Noctis took one finger to his cheek to brush away the tears._

_“Will you live for me?” Prompto shook as he took time to look around, the inside of the home fading like an evaporating puddle. The memories of life came rushing back to him, as jarring as a bucket of ice water that had been dumped on his head._

_. . ._ D O  Y O U  T R U S T  M E  . . .     ?

_“I do.”_

Carbuncle, I need you.

_A searing red light burst into the Godslinger’s vision, brighter than any dawn to date. From the hole in his chest burned a pulsing ruby glow and Prompto found himself soaring higher into the sky than ever before, clouds brushing his face as the Six surrounded him in an unbreakable ring. There was the sound of wings, a tumult of crashing thunder, and an uncanny feeling that he had been there once before, eons ago, before time and space. When he glanced down at his hands they were furry and clawed, his vision sharper than any human’s- he knew instinctively that he was one with Carbuncle, and this vision was one of her memories. Noctis had joined them together, and the purpose, previously unclear in his human mind, suddenly presented itself with undeniable clarity. She was offering him that power now, the one he had shied away from and rejected out of fear. He knew that if he chose to wield it he could never go back to who he once was. The knowledge rested in his heart, and it that stretched until the end of existence. There in the eye of the storm was the Chaos, but he was unafraid of it. Instead, he eyed it with a childlike curiosity, fearless as he rested in the light that now shielded his soul._

_“Do you know what you must do?” She asked unassumingly, already knowing the answer._

_“I do.” His voice was not his own, and yet it was familiar._

_“Then rise, Godslinger, and know that I walk with you.”_

 

* * *

 

When Prompto opened his eyes on the street of Insomnia, it was within a breath of his first step through death’s door and into the Astral Plane. Ardyn’s only sign of surprise was the slightest raising of his eyebrows and a small gasp when Prompto removed the sword from his chest and tossed it back in his face. There was a ringing of metal as it reverberated on an invisible shield, for the Accursed King of Lucis had attempted another attack with the strength of his entire armiger, only to have the blades halted in mid-air.

The Godslinger trained his gaze on the supposed king, and relished in the sudden fear in Ardyn’s expression. When he raised one arm it was no longer as a mortal, but as a god-machine hybrid. The earth itself seemed to shape to his will, moving to swallow his enemy as he felt legendary weaponry mounting on both shoulders, his very own wings stretching up towards the heavens. While the red-headed man strained to escape the ground’s clutches, a volley of light hurled at his face. The resulting impact was so loud that all of Insomnia trembled and creaked, buildings leaning dangerously as if from an earthquake’s tremors. Prompto felt his very soul expanding, taking on the power of the Six and disintegrating daemons for miles in every direction.

When the light receded, Ardyn had lost his human form and was instead a swirling mass of darkness. Prompto recognized him for what he was and moved towards the Chaos, brandishing the gunblade that had materialized to fit perfectly in his hand, an image of Carbuncle in all her glory etched down its length.

\-- Y O U  C A N N O T  D E S T R O Y  M E -- !

 _I do not seek to destroy you._ Prompto didn’t need to use words to be heard by the timeless entity. He trained the gunblade on the center of the cloud in front of him, his body charged with six different distinct lights as the bullets loaded ominously. There was a screech unlike any creature Prompto knew of when the shots rang out, a noise like the world had just split in two, and the resulting debris blocked out the sun in the sky for what felt like an eternity. When the dust finally settled and the black particles dissipated, events resumed in real time, rendering everyone very confused as to how Prompto had passed out behind Ignis when the man had just taken his hand. Confusion transformed into hysteria when they found he was no longer breathing.

“Prompto! Wake up!” Ignis shouted, trying to shake his friend awake before attempting to resuscitate him. With every forceful compression, Prompto’s blue orbs flashed a vibrant crimson.

_> >> _

_“Why couldn’t you tell me?” Prompto asked as he walked hand-in-hand with Noctis. They were on the pier in Galdin Quay as the sun was setting, a gorgeous array of warm colors cast across the waves._

_“Would you have even believed me if I told you? You weren’t ready.” Prompto knew he was right, but merely looked up at a passing seagull disdainfully. “Any sooner and you would have been turned into a daemon. Any later and you would have died.”_

_“You really suck at this whole king thing,” the blue eyed man blurted, earning another laugh from his friend._

_“Don’t remind me.” There was a lull in the conversation and they stopped, leaning over the edge of the railing to watch the tide roll out. The sound of the crashing waves was a soothing melody that they could have listened to for hours on end._

_“So, what now?” Prompto wondered aloud, watching as a fish jumped out of the water and a bird swooped down to grasp at it._

_“You can come with me,” Noctis offered, but Prompto could sense a reluctance there._

_“What about Eos?” The king’s silence spoke for itself and he sighed. “I’m supposed to stay, aren’t I?” He had known when he had seen Carbuncle’s vision that he was meant to be the world’s new Oracle, and that if he didn’t accept, the world would be consumed by the very Chaos that Ardyn had chosen to embody._

_“You don’t have to.” Prompto looked at the king pointedly, suddenly annoyed by the change of heart._

_“What happened to my divine calling and keeping balance, blah, blah, blah? You know, the whole reason you did this to me in the first place?” Noctis rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly in response, making him look younger than he was._

_“Like you said, I suck at this whole king thing.” Prompto studied his friend as he continued to look across the water. Noctis wanted permission to be selfish, to make a choice for himself and no one else, but unfortunately, that wasn’t his lot in life. Prompto nudged him affectionately in the ribs and a smile flickered briefly across the king’s lips._

_“If I don’t go back, the Chaos will reign, won’t it?” Prompto prodded. “And Gladio and Ignis… they’ll die.” Noctis brought his head to his hands and_ _rested it there, confirming Prompto’s suspicions. “All righty then.” Prompto abruptly stretched his arms overhead and cracked his neck from side to side. “I’ll live for you. Leave it to me.” Noctis’s eyes widened in wonder as he took Prompto’s hands in his abruptly._

_A glimpse of another life flickered in Prompto’s mind, but it left as quickly as it came. “I love you, Prompto Argentum, and I walk with you—always.”_

_“Ever at your side,” Prompto agreed quietly, trying to keep his habitual fidgeting to a minimum. The singing of the waves filled Prompto’s ears once more as he closed his eyes and leaned forward, lips meeting their target._

 

* * *

Prompto came to life with a sputtering gasp and a sharp pain over his sternum. Ignis looked so distraught leaning over him that he feared someone had died. The gunman sat up too fast and the world spun, making him put both hands out for support. “Thank the gods—thank Carbuncle—you’re alive!” Ignis exalted, tears streaming down his face.

“Was there any doubt?” Prompto asked dizzily, distracted by the throbbing ache in his chest. Before he knew it, he was being scooped by Ignis’s capable arms and led to a nearby airship. Gladio appeared as if summoned to assist them both, and soon they were soaring high above Insomnia and retreating for safer ground. Prompto slipped in and out of consciousness, keenly aware that something major had happened, but too tired to put the pieces together in his mind.

 _Ange, you there?_ Prompto thought as he closed his eyes in exhaustion.

         _“I’m here, Prompto.”_ Came the steadied response, a warmth washing over him.

_I’m sorry._

         _“You need not speak, my lord. Just rest.”_ The goddess urged, sweeping aside his apology.

 _My lord, huh?_ Prompto couldn’t help but smile even as his mind drifted off. _Ange?_

_“Yes?”_

_Don’t leave me._

_“I swore an oath. I will never leave you again.”_ She promised firmly. He could feel in his heart that she told the truth, and the familiar knowledge of the Six shot through his being, revealing everything the universe contained. It would have overwhelmed him entirely if he hadn’t experienced it once before. While he slept, he heard many things, not all of which he could be sure were real.  

The Council had taken Ardyn’s mysterious disappearance along with that of the world’s daemons into careful consideration and decided to pardon Prompto, his friends, and the Astralians of all wrongdoing. The added threat of physical retaliation from Cor Leonis, Iris Amicitia, and Aranea Highwind if they failed to do so were just the extra incentive they needed. Ignis declared a disbanding of the Council and was unanimously appointed as regent of the Crown City by the Insomnian citizens, a task he accepted with grave honor and solemnity.

Sightings of the Six were reported all across the world, lending credibility to the Astralians, and shrines were erected at all corners of the globe to properly worship the gods. The location of the Tomb of the Fearless was in turn revealed so that the story of King Noctis could be properly passed down from generation to generation, and Ardyn’s role in the Long Night and place in history was finally explained to masses. Restoration efforts resumed, no longer slowed by the threat of attack, and power returned to all of Lucis. Cor Leonis led several more parties into the depths of Niflheim, seizing all research facilities, documents, and the famed ‘kill switch’ data for the Magitek soldiers, which was promptly disposed of. Rumors of Prompto ‘The Godslinger’ Argentum only spread more prolifically, and there were whispers, particularly among the Astralians, that he was the first Oracle of his kind, chosen by the gods instead of born.

But who could say? For the freckle-faced man lying in bed while his many visitors whispered stories and news to him had not opened his eyes in many weeks.

 

_Day 364 of Light -_

Ignis had been holed up in the Citadel for the duration of the rainy day, busy with coordinating plans to celebrate the one year anniversary of the Dawn. Leaders from across Eos had flocked to the Crown City for the spectacle, and their appointed leader wanted everything to be perfect. The gray sky continued to darken to black outside his window, and he was giving the schedule of events one last glance over when his phone buzzed. He smiled at the name that popped up on the screen and slid a finger over it to answer.

“Yes, Ignis Scientia speaking.” A low voice immediately responded, the hint of a smirk beneath its gruffness.

“I would like to lodge a complaint. You see, my fiancé was supposed to have been home hours ago, and his dinner has gone cold.” Ignis ‘tsk’ed as he spun around in his chair and began collecting his belongings.

“That is quite grievous indeed. Shall I direct you to Human Resources?” Ignis questioned, amused. He was already on his feet and heading out the door, nodding a goodbye to his secretary.

“No, I don’t think that would do me any good, but I would like to be compensated,” the man explained. Ignis raised his eyebrows as he took the elevator up, the lights of the city twinkling like a sea of stars outside its glass frame. 

“Oh, is that so? Pray tell, what did you have in mind? I will do everything in my power to accommodate you, High Commander.” Gladio was laughing now, and the richness of it made Ignis’s heart sing.

“Just get your ass home, Iggy.” No sooner had he hung up that he stepped out into the private wing of the Citadel and presented a key card, gaining him access to its inner sanctuary, the place he now called home. Gladio was waiting at the table in the spacious kitchen, one foot crossed over to rest on the opposite leg, a book in hand.

“I apologize for my tardiness, just finalizing the details for tomorrow,” Ignis said, dipping his head to plant a greeting kiss on Gladio’s lips. Gladio set the book aside as Ignis sat down to eat.

“I know, everything’s got to be perfect for the big show. It’s just a shame Prompto won’t be here to see it,” Gladio mused.

“Any news?” Ignis had stopped being hopeful, but couldn’t keep himself from asking. Their friend had been in his own version of crystal stasis since Ardyn’s disappearance, his body clearly thriving, but with no sign of regaining consciousness. He was kept in a room on the same floor and attended to around the clock, and his friends made sure to visit him on a regular basis.

“No, nothing’s changed, but you know him. He’ll be back around when he’s needed,” Gladio stated with confidence. Keeping his expression neutral, Ignis ate, taking the opportunity to avoid speaking further on the topic. Gladio instantly noticed the shift in mood and left it alone until he had finished the meal. Then, while collecting dishes, he posed a harmless question. “Were you still keen on waiting for him?”

“We waited ten years for Noct,” Ignis answered without hesitation. Gladio dropped it, not wanting to reopen old wounds. As he started to clean up, he felt Ignis come up behind him and sigh. There was no judgement as Gladio turned to take him into his arms. “As long as there is breath in his lungs and a beat in his heart, there is hope,” Ignis insisted with a stubbornness Gladio adored.

“I know,” Gladio agreed as his hand gently trailed down Ignis’s spine. They stood locked in their embrace until Gladio’s phone started to buzz. “Who’s calling at this hour?” The bigger man demanded before answering. “Gladio.”

“Sir, you’ll want to come immediately. He’s awake.” Ignis was close enough to overhear and tore away before his partner could respond. Dropping the phone from shock and not bothering to pick it up, Gladio bolted from the suite and down the hall where Ignis was already headed. They ran past the attendant at the door and into the room that used to be Noctis’s when he was still just a prince, and there, propped up in the four canopy bed was Prompto Argentum, blinking his blue eyes in a disoriented haze.

“What a strange dream,” he croaked, his throat stiff from months without use. Ignis and Gladio came to sit on either side of the bed in disbelief. It felt like they might be the ones who were dreaming. “What’s up guys? How long was I asleep?” Prompto now asked, seeming to notice how difficult it was to stretch out, muscles quivering with the smallest of motions.

“Are you hungry?” Ignis inquired, a hand subconsciously moving to rest on his younger friend’s shoulder as he decided an answer to his question could wait until later. Prompto paused, considering. He didn’t know that he had been fed through a tube throughout most of his coma, but the concept of food nonetheless felt strange, but inviting.

“I could eat,” he finally decided, much to Ignis’s delight. Gladio, already familiar with Ignis’s mind, proceeded to scoop Prompto up. He had never been large to begin with, but the younger man had grown thin and weak as of late, making it even easier to lift him. For once, Prompto didn’t protest while the two men spirited him away to the home they now shared. While Gladio made the blonde comfortable on the couch, tucking him into a large blanket, Ignis busied himself in the kitchen, deciding a soup might be easiest for him to consume. The Godslinger watched them both quietly, dusting the cobwebs from his mind as he did so.

“How long was I out?” Prompto asked once the two men finished their individual tasks and joined him in the living room. In perfect harmony, Ignis and Gladio proceeded to regale him with life since he had fallen asleep. Prompto listened without interrupting, a sense of déjà vu keeping him entranced. While his body felt week, his mind was active, and there was something hovering just below the surface that he couldn’t quite see. He was impatient to discover it though.

“The government is stable now, if not spread thin. Tomorrow is a grand opportunity for us to bolster our alliances moving forward,” Ignis said with pride.

“Iggy’s been working a lot of late hours to make sure things run smoothly.” Gladio sung his praises because he knew his fiancé wouldn’t take any of the credit. “We’re glad you’ll be around to see all the progress, Godslinger.”

The nickname was like a key turning in a lock. _Angelique?_ The emptiness there frightened him and his stomach wretched, threatening to throw up what little food it held. His face must have gone pale, because Ignis moved forward to steady him with concern.

“Are you all right?” Ignis asked, eyes searching his face.

“Yes, just—weak. I think I need to rest.” Without being told, the two men hastened to put him to bed in a spare bedroom, ensuring he had every comfort available and promising to be just a door away. After they finally said their reluctant good nights, not wanting to leave him after their time apart, Prompto lay awake staring at the ceiling. He had slept for too long to close his eyes now.

 _Angelique?_ He called again, and this time there was the faintest tingling in his chest, like the feeling one gets when a bug crawls across one’s skin. Carbuncle didn’t answer, however, and Prompto was left to wonder what could have been important enough to cause her to break her promise to never leave him.  

 

_D_ _ay 365 of Light -_

All the stores in Insomnia had closed for the first annual Dawn celebration. Streets were lined with colorful banners and decorations, and the area surrounding the Citadel had been closed to all traffic to allow people to fill the streets. Ignis and Gladio had risen early and put on some of their better finery. If Prompto hadn’t known better, he would have thought Ignis to be the King of Lucis. They fretted over something for him to wear and securing a wheel chair for transport since he was still too weak to stand very long. Prompto said he didn’t want to be an inconvenience to anyone, but his friends insisted on bringing him. After all, he was the hero everyone wanted to see. They searched Noctis’s old room for something suitable and eventually settled on a suit that was baggy in places, but otherwise presentable. The gunman declined to mention that it was the same suit he remembered him wearing on his 20th birthday.

A small parade was set to kick off the holiday, and leaders would assemble at the Citadel to hear Ignis speak. A treaty would be signed by the visiting nations, promising a peaceful union for the betterment of Eos, and trade agreements would be made. Entertainment would continue into the evening when the city blocks would be overtaken by vendors for a festival dedicated in Noctis’s honor. Ignis had thought of everything, and Prompto couldn’t help but be impressed, but something was still missing.

“The gods.”

Ignis glanced at him in the rearview mirror. He still insisted on driving himself, even after being promoted to regent. “What about them?” The ruler of Insomnia inquired tersely. Prompto shook his head.

“They need to be thanked too.” Silence pervaded the cab, and Gladio looked away. He had obviously struck a chord without knowing it.

“The gods abandoned you, Prompto. Once they finished wielding your body like a tool, they left you to rot. You know the Astralians believe you to be an Oracle? Do tell, what do the Six have to say? I’m dying to hear it.” Prompto wasn’t sure where Ignis’s hostility was coming from, but the same wave of nausea from the night before struck him and he had to roll down the window to fight it off, effectively declining to answer.

When the arrived at the Citadel it was a relief. Crowds were already lining the street in anticipation, and the Lucian Guard escorted them to a designated parking area. Gladio helped Prompto into the wheel chair they had requested and pushed him easily to the receiving hall where Ignis was immediately bombarded by reporters. Wheeling Prompto in a separate direction, they were suddenly alone. “I don’t think you need to deal with that just yet,” he commented.

“Why’s Iggy so angry? The gods weren’t the ones who put me in a coma,” Prompto insisted. There it was again—a thought, just out of reach, like the details of a dream upon waking. Although he didn’t have hard facts to back up his beliefs, Prompto couldn’t help but feel that Carbuncle hadn’t abandoned him, and he would defend her, even to his best friends.  

“Maybe, maybe not, but Iggy has been to every shrine in Eos begging the gods to wake you and received no answer, even though the Six have been seen roaming the lands freely,” Gladio explained while they waited.

“So how do you explain that I’m here now?” Prompto challenged, unsure why he was so adamant. The Shield of Lucis shrugged helplessly and didn’t respond, leaving them both to ponder the reason for Prompto’s auspicious awakening. Once the paparazzi had been dealt with, the day started with a blur of activity. Ignis gave an opening statement from the steps of the Citadel, which was met with cheers and applause, showing the love the people had for their regent king. This was followed by the parade, and Prompto watched the floats roll by absently, his thoughts elsewhere. Gladio regularly asked how he was doing, fetching him food and drink whenever he needed it.

The morning lengthened to afternoon, peaking as Ignis took the stage once more. He was joined by the diplomats of Eos, several of which Prompto recognized from the disbanded Council. Some seemed to notice him as well and exchanged looks and whispered comments that made the gunman shift in his seat. The last time they had seen each other they had been demanding Prompto’s death. As soon as Ignis began his speech, however, the people only had eyes for the regent. His eloquence and diplomacy made him an attractive ruler, but Prompto couldn’t shake the cloud that hovered over his mind.

A rush of images came into his vision then—of Chaos descending on Insomnia in a wall of flame, setting fire to the very walls meant to protect the city from invasion. The Citadel, crumbling from Titan’s blow, daemons pouring from every window. He stood there, watching it from the ground, blood pouring from countless wounds that stained his sight red. Through the smoke, Carbuncle’s broken body could be seen at the feet of a dark form, eyes glowing as it stared straight at him through the In-Between and across time.

Prompto didn’t realize he had screamed until the silence became unbearable. All eyes were trained on him, Ignis’s included. Though his legs shook with the strain, he made his way to the podium. Gladio made no move to stop him, too stunned to react. “Prompto,” Ignis started to warn him, but whatever he was going to stay stopped in his throat as Prompto met his gaze. He knew— _felt_ —the power of gods reflected in them.

“People of Eos, take care not to offend the gods,” Prompto spoke into the microphone as a hush covered the city. The sky, previously a brilliant blue, darkened mysteriously, filling with flashes of celestial light. People in the crowd became nervous and retreated from the open square to find cover as the Godslinger continued. “I have seen what can and will be if the darkness is allowed to reign. Take heed, and come together as one nation, in harmony as the Six intended.” Although subtle, he could feel the echoing of a thousand voices in his chest, lending power to words not entirely his own. The strength of body, mind, and soul pulsed in his veins, and he no longer trembled.

_Angelique?_

_“I am here, my lord. Forgive my absence.”_ In the span of a thought she revealed to him how she had worked tirelessly on his behalf the entire time he was asleep, keeping the Chaos at bay so his soul was free to travel to the Astral Plane, readying him for the long road ahead as Oracle. They shared two halves of the same whole, which is why his body had weakened with her frequent comings and goings. And there was something else, an emotion he knew well—devotion, and sacrifice. “ _Do not call me by my mortal name,”_ she requested, whispering to him her true name, one in a language no human would understand. He tested it, gingerly examining it in his mind, much to her delight.

As the Godslinger and Oracle stood before the people of Insomnia, the images of the Six surrounded the Citadel, burned into the sky above. Their power was stifling, even bringing some to their knees in supplication. It couldn’t have lasted for more than a few minutes, but to many it lasted an eternity. When the skies inevitably cleared and the power of the gods withdrew like a summer rain, all eyes were steadied on Prompto Argentum and he was suddenly a kid again, presenting in front of the class.

He cleared his throat, resisting the urge to look over his shoulder at Ignis and Gladio for support. “Uh, so, yeah, happy one year of the Dawn, everybody!” When he backed away from the microphone in apparent retreat, there was an immediate uproar on all sides. Gladio put one hand on Ignis, although he wasn’t sure if it was to keep him from throttling their friend or to lend him his strength. The Godslinger offered his best smile before rejoining the two, and Ignis reluctantly resumed the lead, stepping forward to placate the masses.

“There will be no questions at this time as we consult with the Oracle and our allies concerning our future. Please, enjoy the festival. There will be a press conference this evening.” The Lucian Guard secured a perimeter as Prompto and the other men and women of power were ushered indoors, and Ignis and Gladio immediately fell into stride at Prompto’s side.

“Feeling better, I presume?” Ignis questioned, marveling that Prompto’s body now filled out the suit as a result of his magical recovery.

“Sorry, I don’t know what came over me,” Prompto apologized, but he knew full well what had happened, the gods had used him as mouthpiece, earning the terror of thousands and plunging Insomnia into unrest. If Ignis had his glasses, he would have pressed them up his nose as he sighed in consternation. Gladio wrapped an arm around Prompto’s neck and squeezed teasingly.

“Gotta keep things interesting, don’t you?” The muscled man crowed, seemingly giddy.

“After we get married, I’m taking you to the top of the Citadel and throwing you off the roof,” Ignis finally threatened.

“Who, me?” Gladio and Prompto both asked in unison, eyebrows raising.

“Yes,” Ignis answered, not bothering to differentiate between the two.   

“Wait—you’re getting married? You didn’t mention that last night!” Prompto exclaimed indignantly, shaking loose of Gladio’s hold in surprise.

“Well, now you know, and yes, I suppose you are still invited,” Ignis retorted blandly, their feet carrying them towards the meeting room antechamber.

“He was waiting for you to wake up to hold the ceremony, no matter how much I fought him on it,” Gladio whispered behind a hand, knowing very well that Ignis could still hear him.

“Aw, Iggy, you shouldn’t have!” Even as he spoke the words, he was privately humbled by the thoughtfulness.

“Yes, indeed,” Ignis agreed, but the man was smiling this time.

“Can I plan the bachelor party?” Prompto asked as they strolled between the open doors, guards saluting and standing at attention.

Both Gladio and Ignis gave a resounding, “No.”

“Okay, what about officiating the ceremony?”

They paused just long enough in their banter for the attendant at the door to yell out: “Now presenting, King Regent Ignis Scientia, High Commander Gladiolus Amicitia, and The Godslinger, Prompto Argentum.” The three most feared humans in all of Eos surveyed the room as the people gathered rose to their feet in a show of respect. Prompto felt a heavy ringed hand settle on his shoulder and didn’t need to turn around to know who stood behind him.

         _“I’ve got your back.”_

_I know._

 

* * *

 

Epilogue:

“Shit, shit, shit-!” Prompto cursed as he flew down the Citadel steps, skipping two or three at a time. “Why didn’t you wake me up?” He demanded, still working his tie into something presentable as he hailed his driver from the curb.

         _“Prompto, I tried to tell you, but you wouldn’t listen!”_ He knew Carbuncle had reminded him recently, but he often lost time while traversing the In-Between. _“Why don’t you warp? It will be faster,”_ she suggested.

“If my hair wasn’t an absolute disaster, I would, but I need time to fix it,” the man explained as he hopped in the passenger seat and flipped down the mirror on the visor. Carbuncle refrained from commenting on his overall disheveled appearance, instead working her subtle magic to assist in straightening his tie and jacket.

“To the Sanctum, sir?” His driver assumed. Everyone and their sister was aware of the date, and he was probably the only one not already there. He didn’t wait for the car to stop when they arrived at Insomnia’s largest place of worship, a temple erected to honor the Six and Carbuncle that had been built over the last several months. Instead, he threw the door open and practically flew out, racing to the side door he knew would be unlocked.

“Fuck, the music has started,” Prompto realized, noting the angelic voices that rang out in harmony close by. Taking a deep breath to collect himself, he hurried through the back hallway to the inner room, a sanctuary filled from wall to wall with the people of Lucis. He hoped he would be able to take his post at the altar without too much fanfare, but the chorus finished their song as if on cue, and Prompto froze like an Anak in headlights as heads swiveled in his direction.

In that moment he took the time to notice his two dearest friends, Gladiolus Amicitia and Ignis Scientia watching him. They were dressed in the richest of black suits with handmade embroidery on their sleeves and lapels, golden vests and buttons accenting their already impressive finery. Ignis also wore a golden circlet, a symbol of his station, and Gladio donned a cape similar to what his father had worn during King Regis’s reign. Knowing everyone was now waiting for him, Prompto donned a charming smile and took his place at the head of the congregation. Ignis was watching Prompto approach with the laser focus of a hawk on the hunt, and Gladio, his back to the guests, made a subtle gesture of a knife sliding across his throat, making the Oracle wince. Trying not to squirm, Prompto started to recite the words he had committed to memory with hours of practice.

“Ladies and gentlemen of Insomnia, we are gathered here before the gods of Eos and its citizens to witness the joining of two souls in the time honored tradition of matrimony. As Oracle, I will serve as witness and reside over the union of Ignis Scientia and Gladiolus Amicitia as they commit their love to one another, from now through eternity. I also have the rare honor of being their friend.”

As Prompto went on, each sentence delivered flawlessly to teary-eyed onlookers, he caught sight of a man leaning against the back wall. He offered a regal smile when Prompto noticed him, making the Oracle’s words falter, but only briefly. “…we acknowledge that life is precious, if not tenuous, and worth celebrating. Through the countless battles, losses, and victories, Ignis and Gladio have served as shining beacons of hope, not only to each other, but to countless men and women, me included. Without them, I would most likely not be here today, and I am confident they will continue to care for each other until death and beyond like they have for me and those they hold dear. So, without further ado, I present these two men before present company to be married.”

When Ignis and Gladio exchanged their vows, no one could look away, but out of his peripheral vision Prompto continued to search for the man he felt was there, yet no one noticed. A loud roar of cheers reached to the vaulted ceilings of the Sanctum when the couple shared a kiss, sealing their commitment as husbands. Prompto smiled sincerely for his best friends, but as soon as they walked down the aisle arm in arm to depart for the reception, his eyes were scanning the room desperately. He tried not to let the disappointment eat at him when he couldn’t find the person again.

“That was beautiful,” Aranea commented, bringing Prompto back into focus on the here and now. She wore a floor length crimson gown with a plunging neckline and open back, the collar fashioned out of diamonds. She was growing her silver hair out, and it was intricately braided atop her head. For someone who lived in combat gear, she appeared almost comfortable in formal wear.

“Thanks, could you tell I was nervous?” Prompto laughed, taking her arm as she offered it. They began to weave through the crowd, lost in their own conversation. He could see Cindy across the room talking with Talcott and Iris, and the mechanic offered a little wave to Prompto and eyed Aranea with what he thought might be jealousy, but the man could have easily imagined it.  

“Maybe only a little, but that’s because I knew Gladio would kill you if you didn’t make it on time,” she joked, a twinkle in her eyes. They exited the building along with others, milling on the street. “Do you want to go with me to the reception?” Aranea offered, her tone suggestive. It was an innocent enough question, but Prompto had become more intuitive with Carbuncle’s help and saw through to her true intent. Trying to be gentle in his rejection, he shook his head, squeezing her hand.

“Thank you, but I’d better not. As Oracle my devotion is to Carbuncle and the gods alone.” The light caught on the dragoon’s crystalline earrings as she tilted her head in mild irritation.

“My, my, look who’s all grown up. Guess you’re being demoted to little brother from now on.”

“I thought of Noctis like a brother,” Prompto mused, no longer pulling any punches. “Never was one for incest, but we all make our exceptions I guess.” For once her eyes grew wide and she was rendered speechless with the exception of a stifled chuckle. He left her on the steps after offering a parting smile, heading for where his driver was waiting and slipped into the backseat.

         _“You needn’t use me as an excuse,”_ Carbuncle hummed in disapproval. She communicated her acceptance of his human needs in her comment, but he was so deep in thought that he didn’t answer, and the goddess quieted.

“Where to, sir?” The driver eventually prodded, and Prompto jerked his head up in shock. At first, he thought he had gotten into the wrong car. After all, his driver already knew where they would be going, but he identified the leather interior and the slightest break in the material on the back seat where a blade had dug into it on one drunken night. Prompto stared back at the eyes in the rearview, recognizing them as belonging to the man in the sanctuary. His heart fluttered, skipping a beat, and Carbuncle’s light covered him like a shroud.

“Wherever you would take me—Your Majesty.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. I would love to hear your comments, and please share with your friends if you enjoyed it.


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